Golden Sun: Nightmares
by MercuryGold
Summary: A year has passed for the Golden Sun crew, and everything is normal. Alchemy is safe in Isaac's hands, and it seems nothing can go wrong. That is... until Isaac completely loses it... Mudshipping DONE
1. Insanity

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Golden Sun: Nightmares

Ok. I'm sorry ONCE AGAIN, but I was disappointed with the old version, so I decided to make a new version of the original Golden Sun: Nightmares. So this is a much better version of the old one. OK? OK! Then read on!

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Chapter 1 "Insanity."

Isaac looked at the bleak sky, searching for at least a glimpse of sunlight through the blackened clouds. 

But there was none. 

There was only the chilling raindrops, and the ever shifting silver and black clouds. He sighed, and shivered in the rain. He knew he shouldn't be in the rain, because he could get sick, but he had to stay there if he wanted to find out what it was Kraden wanted to talk to him about. 

But he had to wait for Garet first. And as he knew, Garet wasn't the most reliable person in the village. And certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was his friend, and nothing was going to change that. 

He brushed his dampened locks from his azure eyes, and squinted through the wind at the people scurrying through the village. 

There were all sorts of people that were trying to escape the rain and there were all sorts of merchants, desperate to sell any of their goods to the villagers. 

In the middle of all the houses that were standing in a circle, was a small lake, with an island in the middle. And in the middle of the island was a large bluish stone that pulsed very lightly. 

It was called a Psynergy Stone, which came from the very center of Mount Aleph. 

Most people were surrounding it, regaining their Psynergy from touching the stone. 

Isaac tightened the yellow scarf around his neck, and wrapped his gloved hands around his body, trying to regain his warmth again. 

He wasn't wearing a very warm shirt, but at least he had some protection from the wind and from the rain. 

He was wearing a vest that was indigo, and another long sleeved shirt underneath it that was a dark violet. The cuffs to his vest were gold, and he was wearing the same coloured violet pants. 

His hands were covered with brown gloves, and his feet were covered with brown leather boots. On his back was a red leather scabbard, with a gold hilt sticking out, showing the rare design of his Sol Blade. 

He leaned against the wall he was taking refuge under, and whispered to himself, "Where could he be! I know he isn't always very early, but...still...." 

"Isaac! Sorry I'm late!" 

Isaac looked up, and smiled weakly at Garet. 

Garet's green eyes looked happy, but also looked weary. His brown hair was spiked up, and always looked like he didn't comb it very well. 

He was wearing a brown coloured shirt, with a green design in the middle and darker brown buckles in the middle of the green design. Wrapped across his chest was a leather belt, with a silver buckle in the middle of it. 

Around his waist was a leather belt, which was designed with a silver, circular buckle, and a pair of leather strips that were painted gold. **(A/N What the HECK are those wierd things on his belt??? DOES ANYONE EVEN KNOW???) **

His pants were bright royal blue, and his boots were a drak leather. Another light brown shirt clung tightly to his skin, showing his very well muscled arms. His hands were gloved with chestnut brown gloves. 

On his side was a sword seathed in a leather scabbard, with the hilt sticking out. By looking at the hilt intently, you could see the worn on it, showing that it had been used quite oftenly. 

Isaac frowned slightly, and said, "We have to get to Kraden's or else you-know-who will be angry."

"Ok. Let's hurry." 

Isaac nearly ran the whole way, but his body was too numb from the cold to carry him very far. 

Garet was right beside him, slowing when he slowed, and running when Isaac did.

The burst through Kraden's door, not caring if the stained the floor with water. 

The house was like any ordinary house, but when you walked in, that was a whole other story. The house was filled with papers filled with research, and tables were covered with bottles of starnge smelling liquids. 

Sometimes small explosions would sound from the house, but everyone in Vale was used to it. 

"Kraden?" Garet called into the house. "Where are you?"

"Come on in! Everyone is waiting for you!" 

Isaac and Garet walked in, and were met with the sight of everyone louging around in any available space there was in the cramped room. 

Felixm, the oldest of the group was leaning against the wall, his drak brown hair falling forward onto his face, covering his lighter brown eyes. 

Around Felix's neck was an olive green scraf, with a long cape with slightly frayed hems. Around his chest was a a leather sort of belt, and he was wearing a dark green shirt. On the front was an orange and brown design. Underneath his green shirt, he wore a pale brown, long sleeved shirt. 

His hands were gloved with a darker shade of brown, and his pants were a lighter green then his shirt. His boots were brown leather, and slightly orange. On his waist he wore a lather scabbard that was heavily decorated with silver. 

The leather bound hilt of his sword stuck out from his scabbard, also indicating alot of years worth of worn. But then again, who could blame him?

He must have been fighting his whole life, considering that he was washed away in a storm, and was found by Menardi and Saturos, and brought up in Prox, a far away land that was wrapped in a continious winter. 

Sheba was sitting, cross-legged in a corner of the room; her short cut blond hair continuously falling in front of her violet eyes. 

She was wearing a white shirt, the cuffs of it designed with brown triangles, as was the front of her shirt. Around her shoulders she wore a lilac cape, and a medallion on the lilac cape which was clipped to the front. 

Her shirt ended with brown edging, and then another shirt underneath started which was white. Around her wrists were leather armlets and her boots were also leather, and the same colour as her armlets. 

Across her knees was a staff, the end of the staff starting in green, the combining into red, and then into gold. The staff curved, and the side of the curved end there were three teeth, that looked like the teeth on a gear. 

Right beside her was Ivan, another boy that was a year older then Sheba. His hair was also blond, but it was a bit longer, and messier, and his eyes were also violet, except they were lighter then Sheba's. 

He was wearing a violet turtle neck, and a green shirt over it. The green shirt had a hood, with a cape that flowed behind it. On his chest was a gold design, which consisted of three triangles that overlapped each other. The cuffs of his green shirt ended in golden lining. 

His violet shirt ended at his thighs, and his pants were dark raspberry. His feet were covered with leather boots that were a dark shade of brown. In his fists he held a staff as well, but it was different then Sheba's. 

It was long and slender, with a curved top that was shaped like a moon. The staff was heavily covered with gold, green, and red designs all over it, cutting it into bands of colour. 

Mia was sitting at a table, her aqua hair falling over her aqua eyes. Around her neck was a bluish, whitish turtle neck, which was surrounded by a large hood that was the same colour. On her chest was a large band of gold, and her long dress curled around her legs.

Her cape was also the same colour as the hood, but with the exception of the blue designs covering it. The inside of her hood and cape were a bright red, that combined well with her dress that encrusted with light blue triangles that adorned the edging. 

Across the table was a long slender staff, that was a gray. On the top of the staff was a large, ankh-like design, with the exception of the long, wing-like things at the bottom of the ankh.

Picard sat on a couch, his yellow eyes pensive, and his aqua hair messy, which he had pulled into a loose ponytail. Around his forehead was a sky blue bandana, which had all sorts of designs that were a sand colour. 

A long sort of cape flowed behind his back, and went all the way to his elbows. The cape was designed heavily with sandy and blue colours. His long collared coat was a darker shade of blue, with gold edging. His shirt was a silvery blue, that was tightened around his waist by a piece of rope.

The coat allowed to show his well muscled arms, and the shorts he was wearing, showed off his muscled legs. Around his feet were dark, chestnut boots. 

And someone, namely Jenna, was storming up to them, her red eyes blazing. Her long brown hair, which was pulled into a tight ponytail, flowed behind her, like a cape on her head. 

She was wearing a pale rose shirt, and a vest that was a cheery pink. Around the collar of her shirt, was a mauve cape, framing the shirt. The pink vest just reached her torso, and then a darker pink corset started, fitting her waist perfectly. She wore a skirt that was dark raspberry, with a large band of pale rose around the edging. 

On her feet was pair of dark brown boots. Strapped to her back was a long staff, that was silver, brown. The end of the staff was a thick, moon shaped design, with another moon shaped design, which was gold coloured.

She stopped at their feet, and placed her hands on her hips, and glared at them. She looked very angry with them.

"Where have you two been? We have been waiting for hours!" she snarled. 

Garet laughed nervously, and looked at Isaac with a side ways glance. 

"I was waiting for Garet." Isaac explained. 

"I had to help my sister. She wanted me to move a whole bunch of things for her garden." Garet said confidently. 

Jenna looked suspicious for a while, and looked like she didn't believe them, and was about to yell at them. 

"Jenna. If you don't mind…" Felix said in a hard voice from the wall. 

Jenna looked back at him, and looked like she was about to explode. She didn't say anything, and walked away from the, leaning against the wall, and crossing her hands across her chest. 

"Go and find a place to sit. This may take a while…" Kraden said, gesturing toward any available area. 

Garet took a seat that was as far away from Jenna, as possible. Isaac stood against a wall, very near Kraden so he could hear him better. 

"Now." Kraden started, clearing his throat. "As you all know, it has been a year since the lighthouses has been lit. And we all know that Alchemy has been placed in Isaac's hands." When he said this, he looked into Isaac's face. 

Isaac blushed slightly. 

"Now. Isaac must find the Celestial Lighthouse, so he can light it."

"Why? It's not like the world depends on it anymore." Mia said thoughtfully. "We've all ready taken care of that."

"Yes. I know." Kraden said. "But have you noticed that Weyard hasn't changed? The land has not gotten any larger. It's almost like it won't change until the beacon of the Celestial Lighthouse is lit." 

Kraden looked in everybody's face in turn. 

"The only way Weyard will ever change, I if Isaac goes into the Celestial Lighthouse, and fires the beacon. Only then will he be able to rebuild the world."

"But…" Ivan said softly. They all looked at him. "Do you even _know _where the Celestial Lighthouse is?" 

Kraden shook his head. "No. I'm not the sure where it is, but I have a speculation." 

He walked to a table, and pulled out a mirror. 

It was all golden, with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, and diamonds. They framed the mirrored face, and only stopped halfway through the top. A large pearl like stone was perched right at the top, with intricate designs in silver weaving away from the stone. A large, slim blade protruded from the back, and pointed upwards.

They all surrounded Kraden, trying to get a closer look at the mirror. 

He placed it lightly onto a table, and held it up, so that they could see it. "Isaac. I need you to come here." 

Isaac hesitated, and was pushed lightly by Felix. He looked back, and nodded at Felix's reassuring smile. 

He stepped forward, and allowed Kraden to take his hand. 

"I need you to touch the mirror. It will show us where the Celestial Lighthouse is." Kraden explained. He let his hand go, and nodded. 

Isaac took a deep breath, and placed his palm onto the slick mirror. 

There was a small moment of silence, which was shattered by a long howl. The mirror blinked with white light, and a long narrow line appeared, cutting through the mirror. 

The line began to turn, clockwise, and then filled the whole mirror. It continued to spin, each time completely another circle, it would change colour. First it was white, then blue, then red, then violet, and then gold. It repeated this for a while. 

It stopped at white, and then a large blast of air, and light rushed through the group. 

Sheba gasped softly when she saw the floor they were standing on. 

They all looked down, and saw what seemed to be a large castle. 

It was all pearl, and gold, intertwining with the towers, and the base of the Lighthouse. Large vines crawled up and through the window, leading to different areas of the Lighthouse. A moat of lava surrounded the Lighthouse, every few moments spewing out large fountains of lava. 

Water fell from a few windows of the Lighthouse, crashing into large columns of ice. It would then be blown away by gusts of wind, and long pillars of rock, and ice suspended the Lighthouse.

The image abruptly ended, and they found themselves back in Kraden's house.

Isaac stumbled back, and backed up into Picard. 

Everyone was shaken up by the image, but Kraden was as excited as a child would be when he or she found out they could use Psynergy. 

"Did you see that?" Kraden asked excitedly. "It was the Celestial Lighthouse! Did you see it?" 

"How could we miss it?" Jenna asked. "It was right in front of our noses."

"It seemed to have every single element in it. It was like it had combined all the elements into one." Ivan said. 

"He's right. All of the elements were squeezed into one Lighthouse." Felix said. 

He looked at the mirror, and said, "Is what we saw real?" 

"Oh, very!" Kraden said. He placed the mirror onto the table gently, as though he were afraid it would break. "That was the actual lighthouse! It was right in front of me!" 

"But wait." Ivan said. "Did we even get a chance to actually know where the Lighthouse was?" 

"No." Kraden said sadly. "But I believe we will have to find it." 

"But where can we start?" Sheba asked. "We don't even know where to start!" 

"But we may have a lead." Isaac said quietly. "I saw a whole bunch of clouds when we were there. I think it's in the sky." 

"But where?" Garet asked. "You didn't see anything that was familiar, did you?" 

Isaac shook his head. "No." He walked to the table, and touched the mirror with his fingertips. "But this may be the answer we need. If it can show us the actual lighthouse, then maybe it can _lead _us to the Lighthouse." 

He frowned at it, and lightly touched the blade. "And I think this may be it." 

Kraden came up behind him, and asked, "Are you sure?" 

"No." 

"Great." Jenna said in exasperation. "We have no idea _where _the Lighthouse is, and we can't rebuild Weyard if we don't know where it is!" 

"And we only have 4 weeks in order to do this." Kraden said. "If we don't do it in that time limit, then we have no chance to save the world."

"This is just like when we had to prevent Saturos from lighting the lighthouses to save the world, and then it turned out we had to light the lighthouses to save the world…"

"Do you know anything else about the Celestial Lighthouse?" Sheba asked Kraden.

"No. Nothing else. I wasn't even sure if the mirror would work, but I had to give it a try." Kraden explained to them. 

"Where did you find this thing?" Mia asked, looking over Isaac's shoulder. 

"I found it at Mars Lighthouse. It was just lying there when the Lighthouse was about to expel the light. So I decided to take it, and find out what I could about it." 

"How long have you been hiding it for?" Garet asked. 

"I've had it for a year." 

"How did you hide it from us on the boat?" Jenna asked. 

"That doesn't matter!" Kraden snapped. "What matters is if we find the Celestial Lighthouse in order for Isaac to light it!" 

"Then we have to come back tomorrow in order to figure this out." Felix said, voicing their thoughts. 

"Then come back tomorrow." 

* * * * * * * * * *

A shadow watched as Garet and Isaac made their way to their houses, and watched as they took their separate ways. 

"Perfect…" 

* * * * * * * * * *

Isaac walked into his house, and locked the door firmly behind him. 

He walked to a lamp, lit a match, and lighting it. Light flowed out into the room, and filled the whole room with its light, and slight warmth. 

He turned, and walked past his parents' beds. He stopped short, and regarded them sadly. The house would have been a lot more cheery to return to if his parents, Kyle and Dora were still alive.

They had both been struck down by a terrible illness, and had been killed by it. Now he lived alone, trying to get through with his life. 

He sighed, and walked to the living room, his steps echoing through the empty house. 

Her suddenly stopped, when he heard a low chuckle. He spun around, taking his Sol Blade out of its scabbard. "Who's there!" he cried out.

There was just silence. 

He shook his head in disbelief, and placed his sword back in its scabbard with a low click.

He heard another low chuckle, and then it turned into hysterical laughter.

Isaac took his sword out again, and walked through the room, his Sol Blade out in front of him. 

"I asked who's there!" Isaac called out again. 

His question was answered by maniac laughter. 

Isaac growled, and walked around some more. 

He suddenly stopped, and dropped his sword with an echoing clang. His eyes widened with pain, and shock. He dropped to his knees, clutching his heart. Unbelievable pain coursed through his body, seeming to reside from his heart. 

It was like a hot brand was being driven into his chest, and being twisted around. 

He cried out in pain, and scrunching his eyes to prevent tears from escaping. Suddenly, it seemed to be like someone had entered his mind, and was banging a hammer against his head. 

He squeezed his head in between his hands, and cried out, "Stop it!" 

He passed out on the floor. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Garet heard a cry come from Isaac's house.

He took to Isaac's house, his mind in a state of panic. 

He came to the door of his friend's house, and tried the door. But it was locked tightly. He took out his Silver Blade, and brought it down on the door. It cut through easily, and splintered the door. 

He rushed in, not caring if Isaac was mad at him after. All that mattered was that Isaac was all right. 

"Isaac!" Garet called. 

He burst through the door of the living room, and was shocked to see Isaac hunched up on the floor. "Isaac!"

He ran to him, and knelt beside him. 

"Isaac!" Garet cried urgently. "Are you all right?!?"

Isaac growled softly in his throat, and held up a hand towards Garet. 

A large burst of wind cut through Garet, and sent him crashing into a cabinet, and then the wall. Garet let out a grunt of surprise, and looked at Isaac in shock. 

Isaac was standing up woodenly, his limbs stiff, just like a puppet. 

His eyes were glowing red, his pupils shaped almost like a cat's. He bent, and picked up his faithful Sol Blade. He sneered at Garet, and started towards him. 

Garet took a dive, and grabbed his sword, springing into action. Isaac was only mildly surprised, but he was also ready. 

Garet charged towards Isaac, bringing his sword down on his side. He knew he didn't want to hurt Isaac, but it was the only way he could get him back to his senses. 

Isaac blocked it easily, without moving from the spot he was standing. He smirked, his eyes narrowing, and delivered a strong blow to Garet's mouth. 

The force of the blow brought Garet off his feet, with a small grunt of pain. He coughed, bringing up spots of blood. Isaac stood over him, smirking. 

Garet smiled, and leaped up, punching Isaac in the jaw. Isaac wasn't ready for it, and landed, sprawled, on the floor. A small trail of blood leaked from the side of his mouth, his hair covering his eyes. 

Garet smiled, rubbing his knuckles in triumph. He always knew that sparring with Felix would pay off. 

Isaac looked up, his eyes blank, and oddly enough, a small smile on his face. 

He stood up, and wiped the blood off his chin. He stared at the crimson stain on his hand, and smiled even wider. "I never knew someone like you could draw blood from me…I underestimated you…" 

Isaac crouched, picked up his sword, and sheathed it in its scabbard.

"Wait. Isaac…" Garet said, trying to touch his shoulder. Isaac didn't say anything, and his face revealed nothing. 

"The one named Isaac is no more. _I _control him. I hold Alchemy…" The last sentence was whispered in awe, as though Isaac was pleased to know that he held all of the raw energy of Alchemy. 

"Then who are you! What have you done with Isaac! If he doesn't exist, why do you look like him?" Garet cried, putting his sword at what was Isaac's chest. 

He smiled lightly, and pushed the sword away. 

"I'm surprised that you are able to forget me so easily Garet…" 

"Do I know you?" 

"Actually…Yes. You have known me since you started the search for the Stars…" 

"What do you-Wait. Are you the _Wise One?_" 

Isaac let out a cold laugh, and he hissed, "Yes…" 

"But…How? Why?" 

"I believe that _I _should be the one to answer that question for you…" 

Garet spun around, and encountered a man with long blue hair and blue eyes. 

"_Alex?_" Garet asked, amazed that Alex was even alive. "What are you doing alive? I thought you were sucked into the center of Mount Aleph!" 

"I was. I would have come sooner, if I had not been delayed…" Alex said, smiling. He stared into Garet's eyes, making him feel uncomfortable. 

"But now that I'm back, I should be able to complete what I wanted." 

"Let me guess. You're going to try to get Alchemy back. Right?" Garet said. 

Alex smirked. "No. Not this time. But good guess." 

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I would have thought that it would be obvious. But then again, I should remember that I am talking with Garet." Alex said, chuckling softly as he said this. 

Garet growled, and was about to lunge at Alex, when he was pulled back by Isaac. He looked at him, shocked that Isaac could be controlled so easily, and that his grip was so strong.

He had known Isaac his whole life, and he wasn't that strong. 

"If you don't sit still, I'll have to make Isaac do something…unpleasant." Alex said smugly, waving a finger in front of Garet's eyes. 

"Now. About me plans…" 

"How did you get the Wise One under your control?" Garet spat out, wanting that that question was answered first.

"It was quite easy, actually." Alex said. "All I had to do, was use a decoy, and sneak up behind him. After that, it was easy going from there."

"Then why is Isaac like this?" 

"You see, since the Wise One allowed Isaac to wield Alchemy, he linked himself with Isaac's mind. If anything happens to the Wise One's mind, then Isaac will also be affected by it. It's the same that other way around." 

Alex smiled, and brushed some hair from his eyes. 

"Then why did you do all this?" Garet asked, thinking of a plan to get away as he stalled Alex.

Alex lifted his arms to the sky, pulled his head back, and let out a laugh. "You are quite amusing Garet. I can't believe that you still don't know what it is I am going to do."

"You didn't answer my question." Garet said, trying to stay calm. He couldn't let Alex get to him, or he wouldn't be able to get away for help. 

Alex stopped laughing, and snapped his head back to look into Garet's face.

"I believe that Kraden had a little talk with you today? Am I correct." Alex asked. Garet didn't answer. Alex took his silence as a yes. 

"Didn't he tell you that Weyard wasn't rebuilding itself, but rather, it might be falling apart once more?" 

Garet nodded numbly. 

"And didn't he also tell you that if Isaac didn't ignite the beacon of the Celestial Lighthouse, all of Weyard would eventually erode away, and fall into nothingness?"

Again Garet nodded. 

"And also that if this wasn't done in 4 weeks, the world would-"

"Just get to the point, Alex…" Garet said, slightly annoyed by Alex repeating everything he already knew. 

"Well. When Isaac lights the beacon of the Celestial Lighthouse, he would rebuild Weyard to his wishing. He can do whatever he wants to do, destroy the world, make the world kneel at his feet…_Anything_…" 

"And?" 

"I want Isaac to build the world, so that _I _will be able to rule the entire world. And then when I am done with Isaac, I will discard of him." 

"You're…You're mad!" Garet cried, his eyes widening with shock. If Alex managed to get Isaac to light the beacon, then all would be lost. And then Isaac would be killed for helping Alex. 

"Mad?" Alex chuckled. "No. I'm not. I'm just like to think big…" 

Garet growled, and looked at the floor. 

"Now. You seem to know too much. I simply can't have you blabbing all of my plans to your moronic friends." He snapped his fingers, and Garet was shocked to find himself pushed from Isaac's grasp. 

He spun on his heel, and faced Isaac. 

Alex walked behind Isaac, saying, "Get rid of him…" 

Isaac smiled, and pulled his Sol Blade from its scabbard on his back. He slashed viciously at Garet, who just barely ducked. 

Isaac let out a laugh, and took another swipe at Garet. This time, he wasn't so lucky. The sword cut into his shoulder, his blood boiling over his clothes, and onto the floor. 

He let out a small cry, and pulled away from the Isaac's blade.

He smirked, and, and took another lunge at him, the sharpest side held towards Garet's throat. Garet fell back, and pulled out his sword. He was about to swipe at Isaac, when Isaac pierced through Garet's chest, just missing his heart. 

Isaac smirked as Garet's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in a silent cry. 

He twisted the sword, causing pain to ripple through Garet's body. 

He pulled it out roughly, splashing blood onto the wall. Garet stared at Isaac in shock, and then the pain that clouded his mind became too much, and he passed out.

Isaac smirked, and was about to turn, when he stopped. He had heard a voice call from the door, and a shriek from what was unmistakably, Jenna. 

He turned, and smirked at Jenna's shocked face. She stared from Isaac's stained shirt and sword, and Garet's lifeless body. 

"Isaac! What have you done?" she cried, lunging at him. 

He stepped to the side, allowing Jenna to fall to the ground. "I just discarded of something we didn't need…" he hissed, a low chuckle following his statement. 

Jenna growled, and cried, "Dragon Fume!" 

The floor cracked, and a large fume that was shaped like a dragon, leap out, and lunge at Isaac. He leaped out of the way, and smirked as Jenna looked shocked that he was able to get out of the way. 

He landed behind her, and drove his sword into her side. She screamed, her voice ending with whispered, "Why…?"

Isaac pulled it out, staining his clothes with the blood of his own friends. He was satisfied with what he had done, and turned, leaving the massacre behind. 

He laughed, and turned away, sheathing his crimson stained sword in its scabbard. 

"Maybe killing is fun…" he hissed. 

****

For the love of God! Don't kill me! 

Please! I swear I didn't want them to be hurt, but I had to do it, so that I can show just HOW insane Isaac has gone. 

Yes. He has gone crazy. But I really hope no one will kill themselves, or will come after me with knives and forks. 

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter! 

Space Leviathan 


	2. Blood Lust

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Golden Sun: Nightmares

Me again! ^_^I just want to say thank you for reviewing! (I'm sorry, but I'm HORRIBLE at remembering things!) Your reviews make me write faster! (_Hint hint. Hint hint..._)

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Chapter 2 "Blood Lust." 

"Who do you think was the one that attacked them?" 

"I don't know. But it seems that they took Isaac." 

Jenna didn't have the strength to open her eyes, nor to even give a groan, even though the pain vibrating in her bones made her want to scream. 

"She's not waking up. You don't think-" 

"Don't even say that!" snapped a voice, almost wavering with fear, as though he was afraid that whatever the other person was going to say was true. 

__

It's...Felix... Jenna said in her mind. She chuckled to herself silently in her head. _Always being the over-protective brother he always was..._

She was at last, able to open her eyes, sapping the small strength she had. 

"Jenna!" Felix said. He looked relieved to know that she was okay. He smiled, and Jenna smiled back in response, since she was too weak to even say anything. "I'm glad you're alright! Here...Just a sec." 

Felix held out his hand, and concentrated on healing his younger sister. A soft golden light washed over Jenna, relieving her of the pain. 

She sat up, and smiled at him. "Thanks alot Felix!" He smiled in response, looking very old and tired as he did so. That was when she remembered just how old Felix was getting; though maybe he was still a child at heart. 

It was incredible how much time flew past. She was almost going to be 18, and Felix was going to be 19. She looked around at her surroundings, and spotted Picard sitting at the other side of Felix. 

"Hello Picard." she said happily. He smiled back, and said, "You seem to be better." She nodded. 

"Where's Garet?" 

Both Picard and Felix looked at each other, nervousness clear in the depths of their eyes. Jenna felt fear and panic rise up in her chest. "What? What's wrong with Garet?" 

"He's real bad Jenna. He was stabbed in the chest. The sword barely missed his heart." Picard said, as calmly as he could. Even though he had only gotten to know Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia he had become great friends with them, almost as though he had known them their whole lives.

Jenna froze with the shock of being told, someone she had known her whole life could very well die after enduring so much to rescue her. "Where..." her voice cracked, so she paused before continuing. "Is he...?"

"The Great Healer is trying to heal him." Felix said quietly. He looked grim, as though he could feel Jenna's pain. "He's in the Sanctum right now." 

Jenna was silent, not wanting to believe that Garet was almost dying.

"Jenna." 

She felt gloved fingers curl around her chin, and felt her face be pulled up to look into deep chocolate brown eyes. Felix said in a soft tone, "Jenna, I need you to tell me who attacked you. And who has taken Isaac." 

Jenna felt a sob wrack through her body, and she flung herself into Felix's arms. He was taken back by Jenna's sudden reaction, and asked, concern clear in his voice, "What's wrong?" 

"Oh Felix...It was Isaac! It was Isaac who attacked us!" Jenna sobbed into Felix's chest, knowing that she was staining his shirt, but unable to stop the tears. There was a small pause of silence, and Picard said quietly, "Isaac...Attacked you...?" 

Jenna nodded into Felix's chest. 

"But...How..." Picard stammered. "He would never attack a friend. I've only known him for a short period of time, but I already know how he is. He is kind, and calm. He would not attack someone without a good reason." 

"I...I don't know..." Jenna said. She calmed down, and scraubbed away her tears. "When I arrived at his house, Garet was already there." 

"If only we could ask Garet." Felix said. "But it's impossible to do so now." He looked thoughful for a while, and then stood. "Let's go the Sanctum. If the Great Healer knows that it is urgent, he will let us in." 

They walked to the Sanctum, passing by Isaac's house. It was dark, with the door still wide open. As Jenna looked closer, she could see small droplets of blood clinging to the grass like dew. 

__

Why Isaac? You have stained your hands with the blood of your own friends…Has having Alchemy in your hands, made you insane with power?

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex watched as Isaac slashed through the houses in Vault.

Alex was enjoying it, and seemed like Isaac was also enjoying it. He was exploring what new powers he had, and was happy to know that he was able to use every single element, without any effort. 

He blasted away another house with a large ball of fire, that was surrounded by electricity. It also seemed like he could combine other elements to make a better, much stronger attack. 

Alex clapped at Isaac's destruction. "Well done. I never thought Alchemy would be this strong." 

Isaac turned, and smiled. "Yes. I never knew that killing, and destroying villages could be fun. I should do this more often." 

He looked to another house, and saw a few people making a desperate run to escape. He smiled, and muttered, "Pathetic..."

He held out a palm, and yelled out, "_Gaia God_!"

The people stopped when they felt the ground rumble underneath them. A large crack surrounded them, spewing out lava from the depths of Weyard, cutting off any chance they had to escape. It then started to close in, making them squeeze into an even more compact group. 

It then stopped, and the lava pulled back into the ground. The family looked timidly at the ground, and decided to make a break for it. They ran, but never even made it the edge of the crack. 

The lava then spewed out again, even more furiously then possible and washed over the people, and then spiraled them into the sky. The family screamed with fear and pain, and then was slammed into the ground, killing them instantly. 

"Wow..." Alex breathed. He knew Alchemy was a powerful weapon, but he didn't know it was as powerful as he had thought. 

Alex looked at Isaac and said, "You really are getting the hang of this..." 

Isaac just smiled. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

"What do you mean that Isaac was the one who attacked you?" Ivan exclaimed. "I refuse to believe that!" 

Jenna just stared at the ground numbly. She, Felix and Picard had gone into the Sanctum, but were refused to go in. 

So they decided it would be better to tell Ivan, Sheba, and Mia what had happened. 

"You don't know if it was Isaac, Jenna." Mia said. Sheba nodded, agreeing with her. 

"If they would let us into the Sanctum, I could read Garet's mind, so we can see if it really was Isaac who attacked him." Ivan said. 

"Yeah, but they won't let us in." Felix said. "We even told then that we had to go in there, so that we could figure out who it was that attacked him and Jenna." 

"We probably have to sneak in." Mia said. "I know that it's wrong to do so, but we have to know if it really was Isaac…" 

Ivan shook his head. "I don't think that will even be possible."

"I've been living here my whole life." Jenna said. "I think I know how to go into the Sanctum. Around this time there's always a guard pacing the Sanctum, so no one will go into Sol Sanctum, and the actual Sanctum."

"When the guard goes and checks the other side, we all run in. There's never anyone inside, so it should be safe."

They all stared at Jenna in disbelief. 

She shrugged. "Hey. I have lived here my whole life…" 

"All right." Felix said. He stood up, and walked to the door. "We have no time to lose. Isaac is probably on his way to the Celestial Lighthouse, and we only have 4 weeks to stop him. So we need to hurry." 

They all walked out of the house they were in (It was Garet's house.) and walked to the Sanctum, looking as though they were up to nothing. They arrived at the Sanctum in a few minutes, and noticed that there was no one at the Sanctum. 

"Let's go." Felix said in a soft whisper. 

They all ran in, checking to see that no one had seen them, and hurried into the depths of the Sanctum.

They arrived to a hallway, which had 5 doors on each side. 

"He's in one of these rooms…" Picard said. He looked in the farthest door, and said, "He's in here." 

They all rushed into the room, and were slightly cramped in the small room. 

Garet was lying on a bed, with a blanket covering him. It seemed like the Great Healer had bandaged him up, but the bandages were already stained crimson, and were rubbing off on the blankets. 

He looked like he was sleeping, but he was breathing heavily. 

They walked towards the bed quietly, trying not to wake him up; though it seemed impossible to wake him up, even when he was really just sleeping. 

"Ivan." Mia said softly, in a quiet whisper. "Use Mind Read." 

Ivan nodded, and walked toward Garet's side. He closed his eyes, allowed his hands to be filled with a soft violet glow. 

____________ (Flashback)_______________

__

I walked slowly into Isaac's house, scared of what I would find. It was quiet, deathly quiet, and I could barely control the shivers that ran through my spine. 

__

I walked into the living room, and found Isaac, looking as though he was dead. 

That was when I got really scared. I ran up to him, and shook him, trying to rouse him. "Isaac! Come on! Wake up!"

I felt him stir under my hand, and I was relieved that he was alive. 

But then, a low growl came from him, as though he were angry at something. He held up his to me, and I was blown away by some wind attack. 

I crashed into the cabinet, and then the wall. I gave a small grunt of surprise. 

Why was Isaac attacking me? I'd done nothing to him. I stood up and saw Isaac staring at me, but he looked real scary. His eyes were glowing red, and he was smiling, his features contorted by the sick smile plastered on his face. 

He then smiled even wider, and picked up his sword from the ground, and faced me. 

God…He looked so evil…

I then noticed that my sword was only a few paces from me, so I took a chance. I lunged at it, spun around, and tried to strike him.

He blocked it easily, crushing my hopes of catching him off guard. 

My god! He didn't even move! 

He then delivered a punch to my jaw, bringing me back to my situation. When did he get so strong? I stood up again, and punched him too, and this time I caught him off guard. 

He fell to the ground, and I smiled, rubbing my knuckle. 

And strangely enough, he smiled too.

He stood up, and wiped the blood from his mouth, and looked at his crimson stained gloves. "I never knew a person like you could draw blood from me. I underestimated you." 

He then crouched, picked up his sword and sheathed it in its scabbard. 

"Isaac…Wait…" I said, trying to get him to listen to me. 

"Isaac is not here. I control him and all of Alchemy…" He looked very pleased with himself, as though knowing he had Alchemy made him happy. 

"What? Then where is he?" I cried. I held my sword to his chest; I was being driven by instinct. 

"I'm surprised you were able to forget me so easily, Garet…"

"Do…" I paused. "Know you…?" 

"You have known me for a long time. Since the whole search for the Stars." 

"What do you-Wait. Are you the Wise One_?" _

Isaac hissed, "Yes." 

"But…Why?" 

__

"I believe I can answer that answer for you…" said a familiar voice. 

I turned, and was shocked to see someone who I didn't think I would see for the rest of my life. 

It was Alex…

___________(End Flashback)___________

Ivan opened his eyes. 

"What? What's wrong?" asked Sheba anxiously. 

"I…I don't believe it…" Ivan stammered. He had obviously been shaken by the memory. "Alex…He's back…"

"What?" Felix asked. "Is that true?" 

Ivan nodded. Then he turned to Jenna. "And Jenna was right. It _was _Isaac who attacked her and Garet. No doubt about it now…"

"What else did you see?" asked Mia. 

"I…" 

"I'll read his mind now." Sheba said calmly. She stepped up beside Garet, and held out her hand, and engulfed herself and Garet in violet light. 

She stood for a few moments like that, and then turned to the others. "I know why Isaac attacked Garet and Jenna." 

"Why?" Picard asked. He looked anxious to know. 

"It was Alex. He's back, and it seems he's taken over the Wise One's mind." Sheba explained as quickly as she could. 

"But…How did Isaac get under Alex's control as well…?" Mia asked. She seemed to be the most worried about Isaac, but who could blame her, she had after all, fallen in love with. 

Sheba though for a while, trying to see how she could explain it, and came up with a simple answer. "Both the Wise One and Isaac are connected mentally. If something happens to the Wise One's mind, the same thing will happen to Isaac. It's the same thing the other way around."

"How is it even possible to corrupt the Wise One?" Picard asked. They all looked at each other, not knowing how it was even possible to take over the Wise One's mind. 

"I'm not worried about that." Felix said calmly. They all looked at Felix, question in their eyes. "I'm concerned on how to stop Isaac, without killing him. And we need to figure out a plan to stop Isaac from igniting the Celestial Lighthouse." 

"And we also have to find it!" Jenna said. "But the problem is that we have no idea where it is…" She lifted a hand to Garet's chilled hand, and squeezed it tightly. 

No one made a move to stop her. 

"Then we'll have to search for it." Ivan said simply. Mia looked sharply at him, and snapped, "We all know that. But do we know here it is?" 

"No. We don't know where exactly where it is, but we do know that it's in the sky." Ivan said. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then responded, "And I think I know where we can begin our search…"

"You mean…You know where we can find it?" Picard asked. 

"Well…Not exactly where it is, but I have an idea of where to start." Ivan said. "Kraden said he found that mirror in Mars Lighthouse. And it was able to show where it was. What I think, is that it's above Mars Lighthouse. Otherwise, why would the mirror be there?"

"But we don't know for sure." Jenna said. 

"No." Sheba said. "But at least we know where to start." 

"Then we'll have to leave. And soon." Felix said. "I suggest everybody go and pack the things we might need. And go and get some rest. We'll leave tomorrow." 

* * * * * * * * * *

A red light spilled over Kalay. When it disappeared Kalay, what was once a city, was in ruins. 

Standing in the center of the city, was Alex and Isaac. 

Isaac smiled, and kicked over a body that was lying next to his feet. "Pathetic…" he hissed. "These people don't even know how to protect themselves…" He regarded the bloody pile to the left of him. 

It was a whole bunch of bodies, all lying on top of each, bloody, and charred from the blast. Broken spears littered the ground, and turbans lay on the ground, all of them stained with crimson stains. 

"It's amazing, how someone like you could kill so professionally…" Alex commented. Isaac didn't say anything, but he did smile, his features all contorted with the sick smile plastered on his face. 

"When you hold Alchemy, you do have to some have fun." Isaac said simply. He looked around, and said, "At least I have relieved this town of the pain…" 

"How can you still be considering this towns feelings?" Alex asked. 

Isaac turned, his crimson eyes flashing with disconcern. "You're right. I shouldn't worry over pitiful things such as a simple town." He turned again, and laughed, "I just wish that pitiful merchant, Hammet, was here…" 

"How I wanted to see his blood flow over his own lands…" 

****

Yes…I know I ended this chapter to soon, but I wanted to end this chapter here. I think it's a pretty good ending! ^_^ 

Anyway, wait up for the next chapter, cause I have already started it. ^_^ (I have WAY too much time on my hands…) 

~*SL*~ 


	3. Departure

****

Golden Sun: Nightmares

Wow...can you believe that there is someone out there who is STILL reviewing my OLD Golden Sun: Nightmares? Wow...I thank her too! She brought the counter thingy up to 9 reviews. Can you believe it? 9 REVIEWS! that's the most reviews I have EVER received on a fanfic! ^_^

===============================================================

Chapter 3 "Departure."

"Are you ready yet?" called Jenna to Mia. 

"Yeah." Mia called back. She walked out, with her staff in hand, and walked along side Jenna. 

"What do you have there, Mia" asked Jenna, regarding Mia's pack. 

It looked like it carried a few number of items, and looked like the bag was going to burst any second. "This? I just brought a few potions. Just incase. And I also stocked up on Psy Crystals." Mia explained for the heavy bulk. 

"You call that a _few_?" Jenna asked. It was amazing how many potions, Psy Crystals and herbs you could fit into one bag. 

Mia shifted the bag, and chuckled. "I guess I should have gone light on the items, but you never know. I mean...We might have to fight Isaac..." 

At this statement, both girls grew quiet. Sure, they knew that they would eventually catch up to Isaac, and try to stop him from lighting the Celestial Lighthouse, but they didn't think they would _really _have to fight Isaac. 

"Yeah...We probably will..." Jenna agreed. Though she knew what had happened to Isaac, she was still confused on how such a strong teen as Isaac, could be taken advantage of so easily. "But I doubt he will be able to cause enough damage to kill us. After all, we do have about 6 Adepts with us."

"Even so..." Mia said. "You have to consider that he has Alchemy running through his veins. Therefore he will have new attacks that we might not be able to defend ourselves against." 

"Oh...Right..." Jenna said, cringing slightly. She'd almost forgotten that Isaac was the wielder of Alchemy, and therefore, he controlled all the elements, therefore, making him stronger then all of them put together. 

Mia quickly changed the subject after a few moments of silence. "Are you upset about Garet?" 

Jenna looked to the ground. "Yeah...I'm worried. What if he doesn't make it?" 

Mia smiled warmly. "Of course he will. He has been able to pull through tougher things then this. He's as stubborn as a ox." 

"Yeah. And he's also as stupid as one!" Jenna retorted. 

At her statement, they both laughed heartily. Jenna felt her spirits lift with the thought of Garet pulling through. _I can't believe I even thought he wouldn't make it! _

"That reminds me." Jenna said, remembering what she was going ask Mia before. "Did you tell Isaac before he went...You know...Before he went nuts?" 

"Told him what?" Mia asked, pausing in her tracks. 

"How dense can you get?" Jenna said, slightly exasperated. Mia was obviously confused. "I mean, did you tell Isaac that you loved him?" 

Mia turned crimson. "Wha-I don't know what you're talking about!" Mia said quickly. Just thinking about him made her heart thump madly. 

"Oh, come on!" Jenna sighed. "It is _so _obvious that you like him! Even Garet, as dense as he is, could tell that you liked him when you first saw him!" 

Mia suddenly became very interested at her feet. 

"_I knew it_!" Jenna shrieked, pointing a finger at her. "So did you tell him?" 

"Well...Not really..." Mia said, wringing her fingers nervously. "I never really had a chance to get him alone..." 

Jenna sighed. "Don't worry Mia! I'll help you!" she said happily. She slapped a hand onto Mia's shoulder. "We'll get you two hooked up, and then you'll be happy as a daisy!" 

With that, she pulled Mia behind her, urging her towards the boat so that they could get going. 

"What's a daisy?" Mia asked. 

* * * * * * * * * *

"Where were you two?" Felix asked as they entered the boat. 

The boat rocked softly against the waves that washed up against its hull. It was a large ship that belonged to Picard. It was a Lemurian ship that could only be steered by Adepts. If any other person besides an Adept tried to steer it, it wouldn't even move. 

"Sorry Felix." Jenna said, throwing her own pack onto the floor. "Mia and I had a little, _discussion_." She winked secretly to Mia. She blushed. 

"Oh well, what matters is that you're on the ship." Picard said quickly. "We should get going before it gets dark, don't you think Felix?"

Felix nodded. 

He thrust a thumb to the small cabin and said, "Go put your stuff in one of the rooms." Both of the girls nodded. 

They went to the lower parts of the ship, went into any room, threw their stuff in, and walked back up the surface. By the time they reached the top, they were already floating along the coast of Angara. 

"If we're heading to Mars Lighthouse, then we'll have to pass through the Gondowan Cliffs, and then after we pass through, we can go and rest at Contigo." 

When Felix said this, Ivan's face lit up. He would finally, after a year, be able to see his sister Hamma. 

"And after Contigo, we go straight to Prox. Understood?"

They all nodded. 

"Then we're off!" Picard said.

The boat slowly lifted from the water, and floated for a while, and then began to drift across the sea, going much faster then they had ever gone before. Felix took to the steering, and tried to control the ship at the speed it was going, and seemed to be doing a very good job of it. 

The wind sailed through them, making them feel refreshed; it had been a while since they had gone out to sea. 

The sea was calm, and the sky showed no signs of brewing a storm onto them. 

That was until they reached the coast of South Gondowan…

* * * * * * * * * * 

Isaac lifted his arms to the sky, and let his hands illuminate with a soft violet glow. As he did this, the clouds around the area he was in-namely, a hill-began to rumble, and quickly fade from white to a black so pitch, no sunlight was able to get through. 

Wind began to gather around him, and started to circle clockwise, making the clouds also spin. The sky rumbled, as though whole armies tramped around on the clouds. Rain poured out from the clouds, the wind ripping out whole sections of the hill. 

He pointed a finger towards the sea, where he knew that Felix and the rest of them were sailing, and pointed another finger towards Kibombo, and another towards Daila, which was right behind him. 

He parted the clouds into three sections, and hissed, "Go…" 

* * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, the winds in the area the others were sailing in, were starting to get rough. The sea was starting to boil, the waves gathering in height and strength. A wave hurled itself to the hull of the ship, making it rock violently. 

"Was that a wave?" shouted Ivan over the roar of the wind. 

"Yes!" Picard yelled back, looking at the sea around them. He, currently, was in the crow's nest, trying to navigate their way through the storm that had suddenly unleashed upon them.

"How could it reach up to our height?" asked Jenna. 

"This isn't a normal storm!" Felix yelled, the realization popping into his head suddenly. "Isaac must have created this storm!" 

Mia looked to the west, and saw the other area were perfectly normal and dry. "Felix is right! All the other areas are perfectly dry!" 

As she said this, a wave rose up west of them, and washed over them. Mia, Sheba, Jenna, and Ivan were pushed up against the side of the boat. They all stood up shakily, surprised by the strength of the wave. 

"Are you guys alright?" shouted Felix over his shoulder. He looked worriedly at them all, looking them from head to toe. 

"We're fine Felix!" Sheba called back. She wiped her damp hair away from her eyes, and shouted to Felix, "Watch out!" 

Felix snapped his head back, noticing the wall of water about to ram into them. Felix tried to turn the steering wheel as fast as he could, noticing that the wave was beginning to curl at the top. 

But he wasn't fast enough. 

The wave rammed into them, with such rage, it threw Felix, and the rest of them, into the side of the boat. It even managed to hit Picard in the crow's nest, and was even able to pull him off, and into the sea. 

When they all recovered from the blow, The mast, where the crow's nest was, had cracked in half, and had sent it into the ocean. 

"How's everybody?" asked Mia shakily. They all nodded, showing that they were fine. 

"Where's Picard?" asked Jenna. 

They all ran to the side of the ship, except Felix, who went back to try and steer the boat closer to land. 

The found Picard, hanging desperately onto a piece of wood that had been discarded by the crow's nest. "Picard!" Ivan called. "We'll be right back! We're going to help you!" 

He looked up, and waved a hand, showing that he had understood, and heard their cry. 

Sheba ran to the cabin, and came out with a rope in hand. Jenna grabbed an end of the rope, and rushed to what was left of the mast, and tied it to the mast, making sure that the rope was on tightly.

Then she ran to grab hold onto the rope, and helped to pull up Picard. 

Picard quickly grabbed hold of the rope that was thrown to him, and proceeded to wrap the rope around his hand a few times, and then grabbed it with both hands. He was slowly pulled up the side of the boat. 

As they were doing this, Felix was trying desperately to keep the boat steady. Even though they were floating off the water, the waves still managed to wash over them over and over again. 

__

How much more can this ship take? He looked at the hull, and was shocked to see a huge crack running up, and almost reaching to where he was. "Apparently…Not much…" he muttered to himself. 

He had to get out of this storm. If he wasn't able to do so in a few more minutes, all that would be left of the ship would be a few splinters. 

It seems like Isaac isn't his usual cheery self… Felix thought bitterly. He looked straight ahead, and gasped. 

There was Isaac…

* * * * * * * * * *

Isaac watched from a small distance, smiling at their misfortune. As he watched, he saw that Felix had discovered that he was there. 

"It seems like Felix has found us…" Alex said. He saw Felix's face light up with the features of surprise. 

"Yes…" Isaac, said calmly. The thought of knowing that Felix had seen them didn't seem to bother him. "I know…Just what I wanted…"

* * * * * * * * * * 

__

What's Isaac doing here? Felix thought, his calm reserves slowly being pushed away, and being replaced by panic. 

He saw Isaac's face light up with a smile, but it wasn't a warm smile. It was a smile devoid of feeling, flashing across his face lightly. Even from the distance they were at, Felix could see Isaac's eyes flashing with crimson. 

__

This isn't going to be pretty… Felix thought, as he docked the ship onto the beach.

He stepped off, and faced Isaac, who used to be his friend. Isaac smiled, and clapped his hands. "Well done. I didn't think you would survive that storm I gave you…"

Isaac looked behind Felix, and saw Jenna, Picard, Mia, Ivan, and Sheba standing behind him. "Garet's not with you I see…" He let out a cold laugh. "I guess I must have really hurt him." He stared into Jenna's eyes. "How'd you like that gift I gave you Jenna?" 

She looked livid, brandishing her Tisiphone Edge. _(1)_

"Oh. You want to fight?" Isaac asked, looking mildly surprised. 

Alex smiled, and said, "I'll leave them for your care…" 

"Alright. They'll be fun to kill…" Isaac unsheathed his Sol Blade, the crimson glinting off the blade. 

Jenna clenched her fists on the hilt of her weapon. That Sol Blade was stained with the blood of her friend. Even her own blood was clinging onto that sword, and the blood of who knows how many others.

"Isaac…I don't want to fight you. Neither of us do." Felix said, also brandishing his Fire Brand. "But if this is the only way to get you back to normal, then I'll have to do this, even if it pains me to do so…" 

All the others also brandished their own weapons. Mia took out her Dracomace, Ivan brandished his Phaeton's Blade, Picard took out his Masamune, and Sheba took out her Meditation Rod.

"Foolish friends…" Isaac hissed. He waved his Sol Blade to his side, and watched as fresh blood leaked onto the grass. He turned his head back to them. "Do you not know how many I have killed already in such a short time?" 

All of them frowned, not wanting to hear the answer. 

"Even I don't know." Isaac said coldly. "But I will give you a hint. How many people do you think there were in Kalay and Vault? If you knew, the answer would add up to how many have been slain at my hands." 

"You…You mean to tell me, that you destroyed Vault and Kalay…?" Mia said faintly. She couldn't believe that the man she loved, had destroyed, and killed so many. 

"No!" Ivan cried. "Master Hammet!" Even though Master Hammet wasn't his actual father, he had grown close to him. It couldn't be that he was gone. 

"Oh…Don't worry little Ivan…" Isaac hissed. "He was spared. He was lucky not to be in Kalay at the time…Very lucky…" 

"What's wrong with you?" Sheba cried. "You're not Isaac! He would never have done all this! He would never try and kill his friends!" 

"Then you'll have to be content with the new Isaac." He said coldly. He brandished his sword, and said, "Now…I believe that we're done talking…" 

He lifted a hand, and yelled out, "_Storm_!" 

A ring black clouds formed over them, and fire rained from the heavens, all headed straight towards them. Picard stepped out, and called out, "_Shade_!" 

A small creature, with yellow eyes and blue scales leaped into the air, and spewed out millions of bubbles, and netted them all tightly together, and formed a sturdy barrier all around them. 

The balls of fire rained on them, but missed them entirely. The balls all formed a circle around them, and sunk into the ground.

"What's going on?" Ivan asked. 

Picard frowned, and called back Shade. It would be better to save him for later. "He missed us!" Jenna said.

"Think again…" Isaac, said coolly.

A wall of fire sprang up all around them, and quickly formed a tornado. They were all sucked up, unprotected by Shade; Picard didn't even have time to call out Shade again. They continued to spin, the fire burning them badly. A bolt of lightning then shot straight through the tornado, striking them all, and paralyzing then with pain. 

The tornado suddenly disappeared, crashing them onto the ground. 

They all lay motionless, their bodies too wracked with pain to even move. "That-that was a fire and…and wind attack put together…!" Felix gasped out. 

Isaac walked up to them, his arms crossed across his chest. He was smiling evilly at them. "Did you like my attack? I guess it surprised you all…didn't it…?"

Jenna stood up weakly, her knees weak. 

They all also started to stand up, but very slowly; the attack had weakened them tremendously.

"Haven't had enough?" Isaac asked. He lifted a hand, and yelled, "_Gaia_-"

He felt something slam into him, and send his sprawling to the ground. He lay on the ground, completely shocked. How could it be that someone was able to get so close to him without him noticing? 

He sat up, and saw a very smug looking Mia. 

She held up a vile, and the realization hit him. _A Potion…_

Isaac gritted his teeth, and stood up. He looked around, and saw that everybody else was also getting up. It looked like Mia had been smart to get out of the way before she was hit by the attack. 

"No matter…" he said in a low voice. "You still won't be able to destroy me…Or kill me…" 

He stood up, laughed softly. "I'm glad you all prepared well…Stocking up on Potions, and Psy Crystals…Because I'm sure you're going to need all the help you can get…" 

"I've had enough of this!" Felix shouted, his anger coursing through his body. They all looked at Felix in surprise, even Isaac. Felix was never one to get angry so easily. 

He lifted his hand, and cried out, "_Odyssey_!" 

A warm glow of golden light surrounded Felix, blinding them all slightly. The light split into 3 sections, each one of them forming into a massive sword of light. He pointed his hand towards Isaac, the swords of light shooting towards Isaac at incredible speed. 

Isaac smirked, and held up his hands, and called out, "_Granite_!" 

A small creature with blue eyes and brown scales leaped out, and dove into the ground. Vines shot up from the ground, and formed a wall all around Isaac. 

The swords struck the wall, and the whole area exploded in golden light. They all covered their eyes from the blinding spectacle. When the light cleared, the wall of vines was still standing, but it had a few holes in it. 

The vines then were brought back into the ground, revealing an empty space behind it. "Where'd he go?" Sheba asked. They all looked around, checking everywhere, but finding nothing. 

"He managed to escape…" Picard said. 

"That was a great show of power Felix." Said a familiar cold voice. 

They all looked up, and saw Isaac standing on a hill. "You're lucky I didn't attack you when I had the chance." He smiled. "But I have better things to do…" 

He looked away from them, and watched something in the distance. He looked as though he were calculating something. "Tell me…" he asked them. "How long do you think it will take you to get to Contigo?" 

They all looked at each other. 

"About 4 days…" Mia said softly. Isaac smirked, and said, "Well…I hope you'll be able to get there before I get there." He laughed softly. "Because if you get there after I've been there, I think all you'll find is a whole bunch of burning bodies and houses." 

"No…" Ivan said shakily. "You…You wouldn't…" 

Isaac smile widened. "Try me." He then looked at the large crack in the hull of their ship. "I suggest you get that fixed. But remember, it could delay your departure to Contigo…" 

With that, he turned, and walked away from them, leaving them all stunned by his words. It couldn't be that he had changed that much? How could he destroy Vault, Kalay, and then try and destroy Contigo? 

"We have to leave right away!" Ivan said desperately. He couldn't bear to know that his hometown would be destroyed, along with his sister Hamma. "We can't let Isaac beat us to Contigo!" 

"We know that you're worried about Hamma." Jenna said quietly. "But I don't think there's anything we can do…" 

****

Yay! Another chapter down! And who knows how many to go! Yes, short chapter, but I wanted to leave it at a good ending, and this probably isn't it, but oh well! ^_^ 

So what do you think will happen? Will they make it to Contigo on time? Will they only find another massacre there? Who knows! I certainly don't! And if you have time, please R & R. It's not a lot to ask! ^_^

And in response to Net Strife's question, yes. This will have a little of Mia/Isaac romance. And maybe a little of Garet/Jenna, and Ivan/Sheba. Who knows! I don't know either!

~*SL*~

__

(1) All their weapons are based on my game. 


	4. Running Out of Time

****

Golden Sun: Nightmares

Hey! Sorry about the delay, as we all know, SCHOOL IS EVIL! Damn you! I really was being buried in homework, and couldn't squeeze this in…Sorry 'bout that! And also in exception, I was in a bad mood, so I really wasn't in a hurry to complete this chap! And once again, SORRY! 

Disclaimer: I've been meaning to put this in, but kept forgetting…I DO NOT OWN GOLDEN SUN! Though we all wish it, IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! 

***WARNING*** THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A SLIGHT SPOILER IN TLA! THOUGH NOT A BIG SCENE IN THE GAME, I THOUGHT I SHOULD STILL WARN YOU! ***WARNING***

===============================================================

Chapter 4 "Running Out of Time."

"There's nothing we can do." Felix said. He turned to their ruined ship. "That is if we don't get this ship to a town where they can fix it." 

"The nearest town is Daila." Picard said. "But I'm not sure they'll be able to fix a ship as big as this one." 

"That's a chance we have to take." Mia said, turning to walk towards Daila. "I think we should get going. The longer we stay here, the longer we stall our time to beat Isaac to Contigo."

They all nodded, and started after Mia, trying to go at a fast pace, but it was almost impossible to do so. The storm had taken all their strength to get through, and now they were all sapped from using their Psynergy to make the ship fly.

They walked for a few moments, when a creature popped out of nowhere, and growled at them. It was a small thing that looked like a cross of a rabbit, and a rat. Its teeth were long and pointed, its muzzle painted red with the blood of who knows what creature.

It growled again, and leaped at them, attempting to slash them open with its teeth. They avoided it swiftly, and were able to kill it before it even stood up again. 

"That was an easy monster." Said Ivan quietly. 

"So?" asked Jenna. "The monsters were always weak here when we first came." 

"No…" Sheba said softly. "I have to agree with Ivan…" She looked around, as though trying to see something. "Something just doesn't feel right…It's strange…"

"What is it?" asked Mia. Her voice quavered with nervousness. The more the others thought about it, the more they got nervous as well. 

"I'm not sure…" Ivan whispered. 

"Don't leave us in suspense!" said Picard. He especially looked anxious. 

"I think we should be careful on our way to Daila…" said Sheba. They all nodded, and continued on their way, looking sharply at their surroundings. The way Ivan and Sheba had described their feelings, they had all grown nervous. 

They walked, and Felix said, "I think you may have been wrong." He looked at Sheba and Ivan after a while. And, indeed, it seemed like nothing was going to happen to them. Nothing had attacked them, and nothing had surprised them in any way. 

Ivan shook his head. "No. We're positive that something is going to happen. Just trust us Felix…" 

Felix sighed softly, and nodded in response. 

They walked for a few more moments, when all of the sudden, a huge explosion blew up beside them. They all went flying from the force of the explosion, and landed hard on the ground. 

They weren't hurt, but they were all shocked by the furiousity of the explosion. They all got up instantly, and looked around in haste, but there was nothing in sight. "Who attacked us?" asked Picard. 

But they didn't know. 

Suddenly, what seemed to be a large, brown tentacle lashed out at them, and it struck right in the middle of the group. They all went flying from the after shock of the blow, Sheba, Mia, and Ivan flying to the right, and Felix, Picard, and Jenna flying off to the other direction. 

"What was that?" cried Jenna. 

"It was a Land Kraken." Said Sheba. She looked a little worried, to not to worried to fear for her life.

"A land Kraken?!" Jenna gasped out, coughing slightly from the dust rising around them. "I didn't know there was a such a thing!" 

"Well, now you know!" Felix said, leaping out of the way. Another large tentacle had lashed out, trying to catch them off guard. "We have to try and defeat it! We don't have much time!" 

The Kraken roared, and came out of hiding. It was absolutely the most disgusting thing they had ever seen. It looked like a large squid, but instead of being pink, it was tan in colour. It's eyes were a sick yellow, glowing with anger. 

It roared again, and lifted two of its large tentacles. 

They pointed at them, and shot out two thin lines of ink. Though they were small, they were strong, and easily cut through the ground. 

They all scrambled away, trying to avoid the dangerous ink. But since there was only 6 in the group, it easily followed them wherever they went. And since it had one more tentacle, it decided to shoot out streams of water. 

"We can't outrun it!" Sheba panted. 

"We have to fight back!" Picard said, turning to fight the Land Kraken. They all stopped, and they were about to attack the Land Kraken, when all of a sudden. More tentacles shot out, wrapping around all of them. 

They were lifted into the air, the Land Kraken squeezing them tightly, looking very happy. They all struggled, and tried to loosen its grip, but they weren't able to get loose. 

"What are we going to do now?" Jenna said in a strained voice. 

"I have a plan!" Felix said. "When I attack it, try to escape!" With that said, lifted a hand that was loose from its clutches, and cried out, "_Grand Gaia_!" 

A long, thin beam of golden light exploded through the ground, and soon engulfed the Land Kraken. It roared in pain, and loosened its grip. They all dropped onto the ground, and prepared to attack it while it was blinded by pain. 

"We should attack its tentacles!" Ivan said. "If we can take those out, we should be able to defeat it!" They all agreed, and lunged to cut off the tentacles. 

Felix, Jenna, and Picard had an easy time cutting through the forest of tentacles with their swords, but Mia, Ivan, and Sheba had a harder time cutting through the tentacles. 

The Land Kraken roared in anger, and swiped all of them away. 

They all landed about 24 metres away from it their breath knocked out of them. "This thing's more powerful then a normal Kraken!" wheezed Jenna. 

The Land Kraken let out another roar, and to their horror, in the place of the tentacles they had cut off, seven more grew in its place. 

"Now what are we going to do…?" whispered Mia in complete shock. 

"I…I don't know…" Felix said. "For once…I don't know what to do…" 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Isaac watched them be blown away by the Land Kraken, and watched them freeze in shock as the Land Kraken grew 7 more tentacles in the place of the ones they had cut off. 

"That's a very good monster you created…" Alex said, congratulating him on his success. "You've created a monster that is able to regenerate its lost limbs." 

Isaac nodded. "I know."

"Then why are we still here?" asked Alex. He was beginning to get annoyed with Isaac's delays. "We should be on our way to the Celestial Lighthouse!" Isaac waved it away with his hand. 

"I just want to see if they are able to defeat it. If they do, I'll leave a few more surprises for them to find…" Isaac said, smiling evilly. 

* * * * * * * * * *

"What do you mean you don't know what to do?" yelled Jenna as she jumped out of the way, a tentacle smashing into the exact place she was standing previously. 

"I mean, I don't know!" Felix yelled over the roaring the Land Kraken was emitting.

"We can't avoid it forever!" Mia cried. She was beginning to get tired, as were the rest of them. "We have think of some way to beat it!" 

Ivan rolled out the way, and a idea suddenly popped into his head. "We should take out the eyes! It can't attack us if it can't see us. Then we'll formulate a plan!" 

Felix agreed with the plan, and he, along with Picard, charged at the Land Kraken, while the other kept it busy with Psynergy. Mia sent out a stream of water, both Sheba and Ivan sent down bolts of lightning, and Jenna sent out searing beams of fire. 

The dazzling lights annoyed the Land Kraken, so it roared in frustration, and lashed out tentacles, attempting to trip them up. 

They were caught off guard, and fell to the ground in a gathered clump. 

At that time, Felix and Picard were given enough time to jump onto the Land Kraken, and stab it in each of its eyes. It cried out in agony, and failed around, its purple blood flowing freely from its eyes. 

"Are you all right?" asked Picard, helping Sheba to her feet. Sheba brushed off some dust from her clothes. "We're all fine." Picard looked relieved.

The Land Kraken was still flailing around, trying vainly to cover its bleeding eyes. The other tentacles were snaking all over the place, destroying a whole mountain around it. 

"We have to kill it before it destroys this whole area!" cried Jenna. 

It roared, and then suddenly, lunged at them, trying to smell them. 

"Watch out!" Felix shouted. They all scrambled away, narrowly avoiding it. It crashed into a mountain, destroying it, and raining debris on them. "It's too big!" Ivan shouted. "And it's too fast!" 

"Ivan, use Zephyr!" Mia yelled. Ivan nodded, and focused on bringing out a small creature with small wings on its sides, and a bright blue eyes appeared on his shoulder. "_Zephyr_!" Ivan shouted, lifting a hand towards the sky.

It jumped into the air, and flied around them in circle. Winds whipped through them, and then surrounded them, making them swifter them they had been before. 

Jenna then held out a hand, and yelled out, "_Kindle_!" A little creature with bright red scales, a bushy tail, and blue eyes leaped out, and fly into the sky, surrounding them with red fire that didn't burn. 

They all felt their power rise, and they all knew that they would now be able to fight the Land Kraken without any difficulty. 

The Land heard both Ivan's and Jenna's cried, but didn't know where to find them. It howled, and sent out streams of water. They were all able to avoid them swiftly, and all of them attacked the Kraken at the same time. 

Jenna held out her sword as it glowed a bright white, and yelled, "_Vengeance_!" A figure materialized from the sword. It was a girl pink hair, green eyes, and horns coming out of its forehead. It held out a bow and arrow, and continued to shoot out arrows of pure golden light. 

They all struck the Land Kraken, tearing into its tough skin, creating huge holes. 

Felix held out his sword as well as he glowed with red light. He yelled out, "_Purgatory_!" A point of red light appeared in front of it, and then gradually traced a large circle around it. Then, fire burst out of the glowing circle, and surrounded it, then closed in, scorching it badly. 

It howled in agony, and sank to the ground, trembling with pain. 

Picard then stepped in, and held out his own sword as it glowed blue, and yelled out, "_Rising Dragon_!" Two Dragons materialized from his sword, and flew at the Land Kraken, both of then growling. 

It struck the Land Kraken, making it writhe in pain. It suddenly froze, turned grey and blew away with the wind.

"That was tough…" Ivan said. They all looked exhausted. Felix turned towards the small village that was sandwiched in between two mountains. "We should get going to Daila. We only have 2 weeks to stop him." 

* * * * * * * * * *

"They defeated your monster, Isaac." Alex said. He was actually quite happy that it was defeated so they would be able to leave. "Now that it's over, we should leave." 

Isaac smiled. "I know…" He closed his eyes, and then reopened them again. "But they're not getting away so easily…"

* * * * * * * * * *

They were walking, when, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, came a gust of wind that nearly took them off their feet. 

They all looked up, and saw a large bird with long angelic wings. Its eyes were blazing violet, and its feathers were green, with a touch of brown. Its tail was long, and even though it was very high up, the tail was able to brush against the moist ground. 

It let out a shriek, almost deafening them, and then flapped its wings at them. A large shock wave of wind shot at them, and this time, it really did take them off their feet. 

They all crashed into rock, cracking it with the force of the blow. Dust lifted up, and pelted against their bodies, blinding them. 

They heard another loud shriek, and then, the bird flew at them, its wings held back, and its pointed beak straight towards them. 

"Get out of the way!" Felix cried, his voice being carried off by the wind. They all scrambled to their feet, and managed to roll out of the way before it was able to attack them. It flew into the rock, smashing it into little grains of sand. 

It crashed into the ground, obviously dazed. It flapped its wings, howled, and shot into the sky. It shrieked, almost seeming like it was cackling at them. 

It held out its wings, and they unfolded, reaching incredible lengths. A small crystal in the middle of its forehead glowed violet, and what seemed like a sun appeared behind it. Lightning crackled all around it, and then it turned into fire. 

"Get out of the way!" Picard shouted, realizing that it was going to attack with both fire and lightning. 

A fiery tornado appeared out of nowhere, and then flew at them with incredible speeds. Lightning crackled inside it, casting out small shocks scorching the ground.

Picard quickly reacted by summoning Shade. It protected them from the fire and lightning, making the attack bounce off into a mountain. 

The attack rebounded on its summon bird, and killed it in one shot. Feathers floated down from the sky, and then disappeared into dust. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

"They beat it…" Alex said, looking a little surprised. Isaac didn't seem to be interested in the fight anymore. "Don't you even care? Why don't you attack them again?" 

Isaac shook his head. "They've had enough." 

"I thought you didn't care about them anymore! You should get rid of them before they become a problem!" 

Isaac snapped his head towards Alex. His eyes glowed with crimson eyes, making him look even scarier them he was. "I take orders from no one. Especially from someone like you! I'll find a way to kill them."

He turned back to look at them, leaving a shocked Alex. 

"I want to kill them with my own hands. There's no fun in killing them with a monster." Isaac whispered, his voice carrying the sound of evilness. "I want their blood to flow over my feet, and I want them to suffer…" 

* * * * * * * * * *

"What was that?" asked Mia, looking a little shaken. "Did that monster attack us on its own, or was someone controlling it…?"

"You mean…" Jenna said faintly. "It could have been Isaac who sent it to attack us? But…It's impossible! He would never do that!" 

"You have to remember that Isaac isn't the same anymore, Jenna." Felix said, looking a like a wise scholar. "He'll do anything now that Alex is controlling him. He'll even attack us if he wants to." 

"Do you even think that Isaac is being controlled by Alex anymore?" asked Ivan. "When we last saw him, he didn't do anything that Alex told him to do!" They all looked at Ivan, a little shocked at what Ivan said. 

"Think about it." Ivan said. "When we fought him, did you see Isaac taking any orders from Alex? It was as though Isaac was fighting just because he wanted to!" 

"You're right!" Picard said. "Isaac might not even be under Alex's control!" 

"Do you think Alchemy did this to him?" asked Sheba. "The Wise One did say there was a small side effect to controlling Alchemy." 

"He did?" asked Mia, looking confused. "When did he say this?"

Sheba shrugged. "It came to me in a dream. The Wise One told me, if someone controls Alchemy, then they'll eventually go mad. I don't know if Alex is controlling Isaac anymore. Isaac might be going mad from the power of Alchemy!" 

"But…Is it true…?" asked Felix thoughtfully. "Sometimes things that we think might be, just aren't." 

"Well, it's quite interesting talking about this, but we have no time!" Picard said. "We have to save Contigo before Isaac gets there! And then we have to stop him before he gets to Mars Lighthouse!"

"We have to save the villagers of Contigo." Ivan said, looking worried. "And we have to save Hamma!" 

Sheba nodded, and comforted Ivan by saying, "Everything will be fine, and we won't let Isaac do any more damage then he has already done." 

Ivan gave a weak smile. 

__

Thanks Sheba…I really needed that… Ivan sent to Sheba. Ever since their adventures, Ivan and Sheba had learned how to send messages to each other through their minds, thanks to Mind Read. 

Sheba hid a smile, a small blush. _No problem Ivan. I know how worried you are about you sister…I'd be worried if I ever met my sister and I learned she was in danger. _

Ivan gave a silent laugh which only Sheba heard. _I'm sorry Sheba. I'd completely forgotten! I'm sorry that you weren't able to find you parents during our adventures a year ago…_

Ah…It's really no big deal… Sheba sent, feeling slightly hurt that Ivan had forgotten that she wasn't able to find anything about her life before appearing in Lalivero. _I…I guess you're really worried about her…_

Ivan suddenly looked a little upset by her comment. _I'm really worried. What if we don't make it on time? _

Sheba sent a reassuring laugh._ Everything is going to be fine. Don't let your thoughts consume you. _

Ivan nodded, though he hid it. _You're right. We should concentrate on the task at hand. _With that said, Ivan abruptly cut off their connection. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Though exhausted from the battle, Mia, Picard, Felix and Jenna more so then the others, they were able to reach Daila just as the sun set in the west. 

"We're here." Jenna said. The village was beginning to illuminate with the lights from inside the houses. The inn was covered with lanterns, trying to attract attention to any travelers who appeared in Daila.

"We'll stay at the inn for the night," Felix said, turning to the others. "And then we'll try to find someone to repair our ship."

"I don't think anyone will want to repair our ship now…" Mia said in a soft voice. As she said this, darkness quickly consumed the village, leaving the lanterns and the pools of light on the ground the only source of light. 

"They'll repair our ship if we give them a lot of coins. I think a lot of people in this town will be crawling all over us when we offer them any money." Picard said simply. "They don't get much travelers around here." 

"Your right." Felix said. He stopped at the front of the door that led to the inn, and opened the door. "All we need right now is a room, and then we'll go find a person to repair the ship. Then we'll stay here the night." 

As he opened the door, A woman with messy brown hair came bustling towards them, wiping her hands on an apron; she looked as though she had been cooking. "Hello!" she said in a cheerful voice, her grey eyes sparkling with happiness. "Welcome to our inn! How may I help you?" 

Felix held out a bag of coins, the clinking of the coins making the woman look hungrily at the bag. "We would like a room, and if possible, some of the food you have to offer here." 

The woman straightened her apron, and said hurriedly, "Yes, of course." She swept up behind Ivan, who was the last person in the line, and pushed them in gently. "Come in. You'll catch a chill if you don't come in!" 

"How many coins do we have to pay?" asked Mia suddenly, curious by the fabrics hanging from the walls, and the piles of straw gathered throughout the inn. 

"For a room, it's 20 coins, and with food included, it will be 30 coins." She said quickly, as though impatient with them. 

Felix nodded, and handed her 30 coins. The woman bowed, gave them their key to the room, and said, "Thank you. You are most kind." As soon as she had appeared, she was gone again. 

Felix held the key tightly, and put it into Picard's palm. "You go the room." He said quickly. "Go and rest. I'm going to go and look for someone to fix our boat. I'll be back as soon as possible." 

With his olive cape billowing behind him, he turned towards the door, and was out again. 

"Well then…" Picard said, slightly surprised by Felix's actions. "I think we should do as he says, and rest up." Picard then turned, and walked towards the room number which was printed into the key. 

As they all expected, all the rooms were empty, and silence hung over them, almost smothering them. They soon reached the room, and Picard used the key to open it. The door swung opened with a low creak, and revealed a messy room which looked as though it had been used previously.

The room's walls were dirty, stained yellow with age. The beds, four of them, were dusty, and the blankets were torn here and there. The curtains on the windows were frayed, and were also losing their bright red colour from exposure to the sun. 

"Well…" Jenna said, looking a little disappointed. "This is better then nothing, I guess…" 

* * * * * * * * * * *

The decided that waiting in the room was too depressing, so they decided to go to where they had seen a large dining room. 

"Hey," Jenna had said. "We did pay for food!" 

As they entered the dining room, the smell of food wafted into their noses, making their mouths water with hunger. It was then that they realized it had been a while since they had eaten. 

They settled down, and wolfed down the food placed in front of them. The cook who was preparing the food, smiled as they asked for more, and more. "My…You all have quite the appetite!" she replied, chuckling. 

"You should see Garet eating!" Jenna said. Her face suddenly fell, and she forgot that she had a fork hanging from her mouth. 

"Poor Garet…" Mia whispered, setting her fork down. She, along with Ivan and Jenna, had known Garet longer then the others, therefore making them closer to him then the others. 

A small lapse of silence followed Mia's statement. 

"Stupid Isaac!" Jenna burst, slamming her fist into the table. "Why'd he have to hurt Garet like that?" Tear sprung into the corners of her eyes, making her want to sob. She had really begun to like Garet, much more then just a friend. Though he was really dense sometimes, sometimes even in the bleakest of times, Garet could always bring a smile to your face. 

"It wasn't really Isaac's fault, Jenna." Mia said, also looking very upset. She had gotten very close to Isaac, falling in love with him as they traveled together. Even though she knew Isaac probably didn't feel the same way towards her, she was still quite surprised to Isaac's reaction to when she fell through the hole back in Jupiter Lighthouse. 

"I know…" Jenna said, her anger slowly disappearing. Suddenly, her anger flared up again. "It's all Alex's fault!" 

Mia nodded in agreement. Though she had been great friends with Alex, she could never forgive him for what he did to Isaac, and to Jenna, Sheba, Picard, and Felix. 

Ivan was about to say something, when the door suddenly burst open. Felix came in, looking a little disarrayed. 

"We have a problem." Felix said calmly, though his expression didn't show it. "What?" Sheba asked, her sorrow slowly being overcomed by worry. 

"I found someone to repair the ship." Felix said. "And-" 

"Then there's no problem then." Picard said, cutting Felix off. "We found someone to repair the ship." 

"I know." Felix said. "I found someone to fix the ship, but the damage is too great for him to fix. There's no way we can fix the ship." 

****

Uh oh! What are they going to do now?? Ha ha! Only I know the answer to that! 

???: You're evil, you know that? 

?? Who said that?? 

Fury: It's me, the homicidal Djinn. I was sent here by Garet to make sure you didn't kill him off from the story. 

Hey! It all adds up in the end! And I did NOT kill him off! 

Fury: Then why is he not in this story? He's only in the FIRST chapter! And maybe for a little while in the second chapter… 

Well…There's really no explanation for that… 

Garet: EVIL! EVIL PERSON! MUST KILL! **Casts Pyroclasm**

**Really crispy** Owie…O.O That REALLY hurt… 

Garet: **getting homicidal** 

Uh oh…Looks like I have a few muses…I hope they won't kill me for the next chapters I have in mind… 

And, as usual…This is the time I ask you to review. But I'm not the kind of person to force you to review. How ever…If you don't review, there's going to be a few flying fireballs going your way…MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

Garet: And you plan to do this…How…?

Simple, SICK 'EM GARET! 

Garet: She's obviously not getting the point that I'm not going to help her… 

REVIEW! 


	5. Sorrow

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Golden Sun: Nightmares

Yeek! I'm _so _sorry about the long wait, but as you know, school is a _big _pain in the butt...

Fury: You're pathetic...

How so? 

Fury: You leave your fans hanging with an _evil _cliffhanger, and _then _you make up a gay excuse saying that school is a pain in the butt.

...It's...not _that _gay...Anyway , I think I should tell you that considering that a little bit of people like this story, (YAY!) rather then updating whenever I feel like it, I will TRY and update every month, or whenever I finish a chapter! :D 

Fury: Evil…

Disclaimer: Don't own Golden Sun...Yadda, Yadda...Do I _really _have to explain to you guys the reason _why _I don't own Golden Sun??

===============================================================

Chapter 5 "Sorrow." 

"What do you mean that they can't fix the boat?" asked Jenna, looking worried. All the other's expressions were fixed with worriness. 

Felix took a deep breathe, and explained, "The man I went to said that the crack was just too big!" Felix then looked extremely worried. "And if we don't find a way to beat Isaac to Contigo, then it's all over!"

"No!" Ivan said, looking very frightened about Contigo's fate. "We can't give up! There has to be a way to fix the boat!" 

Felix shook his head sadly. When he looked up at Ivan, his eyes held the feeling of sadness, and regret. "There's nothing we can do…I'm sorry…" 

"Did you say that you need a boat that needs fixing…?" whispered a soft male voice. They looked towards the doorway, and saw a young boy who looked to be around Ivan and Sheba's age. His hair was brown, and lay flat across his forehead. His eyes were a bright blue, which seemed to contain sadness a young boy such as himself should never experience. 

He looked around all of them, blinking at them. "Did you say you can't find anyone to fix your boat…?" 

They all were a little surprised by the boy's sudden appearance, so they didn't answer. Mia was the first one to break the awkward silence. "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do." 

The boy's face was overtaken by joy, and sheer relief. "Really?" he asked in a happy tone. 

Mia looked at Felix, looking to see what Felix would say to the boy. Felix peered critically at the boy, and said, "Why are you so happy to know we need someone to fix our damaged ship?" 

The boy was a little unsure of what to say, and then said simply, his face being overtaken by sadness, "We need the money. My sister is really sick, and we have no money to pay the healer. And we're trying to get money anyway we can." His face lit up again. "But if no one can fix your boat, my father would be happy to fix it for you!" 

Felix was about to say something when Picard cut him off. "We would be most grateful if your father is able to fix our ship. When will he be able to fix the boat?" 

The boy's mouth broke into a grin. "He can begin now if you want!" 

Picard smiled at the boy warmly. "That would be great! And it would be even better if he was able to fix the boat by Sol's rising." The boy smiled again, and said, "Of course!" before running off to find his father. 

"Why did you accept that boy's offer?" asked Felix, glancing at Picard. Ivan, Sheba, Mia, and Jenna also looked quizzically at Picard. He smiled at them. 

"The boy had such kind eyes." He said simply. "He didn't look like he wanted to take our money without doing a good job. He really looked sad when he spoke of his sister being ill as he said she was." 

"Looks can be deceiving…" Felix muttered under his breath. 

"You're such a worrier, Felix!" Jenna said, pointing her fork at him. "You need to lighten up, like Garet!" Felix glanced at Jenna with narrowed eyes. Jenna laughed, and popped a small piece of meat into her mouth. 

"I agree with Felix." Ivan said suddenly. "At a time like this, we really shouldn't be trusting people around these areas. Isaac could be bribing them with power to get them to do anything he wants." 

"Ivan does raise a good point…" Mia said quietly, munching on a piece of lettuce. "For all we know, Isaac could be manipulating them with power and immortality." 

"But right now…" Ivan said, setting down his fork. "I'm willing to do anything to save Contigo and Hamma. Even if means trusting enemies to do it…" 

* * * * * * * * * 

"Mia…?" whispered a voice. Mia gave out a small sleepy groan, and pulled the blankets over her head. "Mia…!" said the voice, still in a whisper, but slightly angered. "Wake up…!" 

Mia groaned again, and sat up, and stared blearily at Jenna's face. Even in the dim light flowing in through the window, Jenna's crimson eyes shone. "What is it?" asked Mia groggily, stifling a yawn. 

A grin floated across Jenna's face. "Great news!" she said, sounding very joyful. "They fixed the boat! Isn't that great?" 

Mia suddenly grew awake. "Really?" she asked, now sounding excited. "They fixed the boat in such a small time limit?" Jenna nodded. "Felix sent me to wake you up, and told me to tell you that we're leaving right away." 

"Great!" Mia said. She threw off the covers, and grabbed her robes off the chair, and asked, Jenna, "I'm going to change. Do you mind leaving?" 

Jenna shook her head slowly, and said, "I have to talk to you…" Mia looked slightly confused by Jenna's answer, and asked again, "What is it you want to talk about?" Jenna smiled sadly, and waved a hand towards the bathroom. "You go change. I'll wait here." 

Mia still didn't move when Jenna said that. Now she was even more curious! Jenna smiled at Mia's concerned face. 

"It's nothing!" she said, dismissing Mia's concern. "I just need to ask you something!" She got up, and pushed Mia lightly towards the bathroom door. "Now you just go on and change!" 

Mia reluctantly obeyed, and walked into the bathroom, and shut the door quietly. As she began to change into her usual dress attire, she began to wonder about Jenna's question. What was it that Jenna wanted to talk about? 

As soon as she was done, she walked out, pulling her hair into its usual ponytail with the same white ribbon. "Okay." She said as soon as her hands left her hair. "What is it you wanted to ask?" 

"Do you…" Jenna said, pausing as she tried to find the right words. "Love Isaac…?" Mia froze in the middle of twirling her aqua hair around her finger. "W-What…?" she stammered, blushing furiously. 

Jenna looked sadly at Mia. "Do you…?" 

"I already told you." Mia said, blushing-if even possible-even brighter. "Before we left Vale." Jenna smiled again. "I know. But do you still love him?" 

"Of course." Mia said, looking slightly taken back. "How could I not?" 

"What if what Sheba and Ivan said that Isaac might be doing all this on his own, and not doing what Alex tells him." Jenna asked, pressing Mia further into the question. Mia nodded. "Oh." Jenna said simply. 

She stood up, and walked towards the door, passing Mia without a glance. "I just wanted to know…" With that, she opened the door, and walked outside to where the boat was. 

Mia stared at the door, even after Jenna had left. 

What was that all about…? 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Jenna walked to the boat, her eyes a flurry of anger, frustration, and confusion. Why did Mia have to love someone she loved? Why was it that when she found someone, someone else loved him? _Why? _

She bent, and picked up a rock on the ground. She played with it absently in her hands, while these angry thoughts played over and over in her head. She suddenly grew so angry, she flung the rock into the sea. 

"Why?" she screamed, her anger and sadness building up in her chest. "Why did it have to be like this?" She sank to her knees, and let tears trail down her chin and onto her dress. "Why…?" 

* * * * * * * * * *

"He really did a great job." Picard said, admiring the newly fixed hull. "Your father is quite good with boats." The boy laughed, and said, "My father always wanted to be a captain of a ship, but when my mother died, and when my sister suddenly grew sick, he didn't have enough time to do what he wanted to do." 

"Well," Picard said taking out a pouch that clicked softly as the coins hit against each other. "Here's the money for the repair. Tell your father that we're happy with the job." The boy took the money gratefully, and said, "Thank you!" 

He took the pouch and ran towards the town, skipping as he went; he seemed very happy to have his money. 

Picard laughed after him, satisfied with the job done on the boat. The hull looked like it had been built 3, 000 years before. "Picard." Said Felix, coming up from behind him. "How's the ship look?" 

Picard glanced at Felix, and said, "It looks as good as new." Felix looked towards the ship's hull as well. "You're right. That's boy's father did a great job." 

Picard nodded. "I paid the boy for the job." Picard said, turning to pull on a rope which was whipping against the side of the ship. "That's good." Felix said, turning to help Picard with the rope. 

Normally, with just one person pulling on the rope, it would have taken about a half an hour just to get the plank down slowly. But with two people, it was done in a matter of minutes. 

"Looks like the boy's father did a good job with the ship." Said Ivan coming up behind them along with Sheba, Mia, and Jenna. 

"Yes." Picard said, starting to climb up the plank leading to the ship. "He certainly did. I also paid him." 

"That was kind of you!" Mia said, climbing up beside Picard. He smiled at her, and she smiled at him. Behind them, Sheba and Ivan pretended to gag. Mia shot them a glare that seemed to freeze their very bones. 

Jenna barely regarded them, clearly upset about something. As the rest of them were sent into a fit of laughter, Mia lagged behind, and stepped into Jenna's walk. "You're upset about something, aren't you?" 

"No." Jenna said briefly. 

Mia smiled in amusement. "I know you better then that Jenna. Something is clearly upsetting you!" 

At this time, they had already reached the top of the plank, and that was where Jenna exploded with anger. "Can't you just _leave me alone_?! You're so nosey about everything1 You just always have to be involved in everything!" 

Everyone of them heard everything Jenna said, and they were all shocked. 

"Jenna!" Sheba said, looking disgusted by Jenna's behavior. "She's just concerned!" Ivan nodded in agreement with Sheba. Jenna glared at Sheba. "And you're always sticking up for everybody! And you can't even defend yourself! You always have to have someone protecting you!" 

Sheba fumed. "Excuse me?!" 

"Jenna!" Felix said, coming up behind her, looking angered by her. "You shouldn't do this! You know that this can break up the team!"

Jenna growled, and then stomped towards the cabin leading down into the rooms below deck. They all stared after her, all of them completely shocked. 

"That was…" Picard said, his yellow-grey eyes filled with shock and confusion. 

"Weird…" Ivan said, finishing Picard's sentence. "Indeed." Picard said, agreeing with Ivan's statement. Felix said, sighing in frustration, "We can't worry about her bad mood right now. We need to get to Contigo! Now!" 

They all nodded in response, and Picard hurried to pull up the plank. Mia was still in shock, but broke her paralysis by helping Picard with the plank. Picard turned to her, saying, "You don't seemed upset about Jenna…" 

"But I am…" Mia said, struggling to get a good grip on the slippery rope. "I don't understand why she's so upset, and why she got so angry!" Picard smiled again, and continued speaking while he tied the rope around a pole. "You shouldn't let her anger upset you. She is, after all, a Mars Adept. Mars Adepts are more prone to anger quicker, and be in especially bad moods. "He brushed his hand off on his blue jacket, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let it distract you." With that, he took the wheel, and began to steer the ship off the ground, and towards Gondowan Cliffs. 

Mia gathered her arms around her body, protecting it from the chilly wind whipping through the ship. 

__

I just wish I was like that, Picard…

* * * * * * * * * *

"Are you done?" asked Alex, folding his arms, and frowning at Isaac. 

Isaac smiled, and threw a bloody head onto the ground. "Yes." He sheathed his stained Sol Blade into its sheathe. He suddenly sneered. He glanced behind himself, and said, almost laughing.

"I hope Ivan enjoys the present I left him…"

* * * * * * * * * *

They were travelling for a few hours when Mia went downstairs, Jenna's comment still obviously on her mind. _What did I do to make Jenna so angry? Is it what Picard said? That Jenna is just in a bad mood, and her Mars anger just got away with her…? _

She walked into her room, and lay down on the bed, her body making it sag almost to the floor. 

There came a knock at her door, and she called, "Come in." She sat up, and was surprised to see Jenna standing in the doorway, looking guiltily at the floor. "Hi…Hi Jenna…" she said timidly, afraid that she would throw off Jenna's anger again. 

"Hi Mia…" Jenna said softly, her voice barely heard. "I…" She looked up at Mia with tearful eyes. "I'm sorry about what I said…I didn't mean it. I know that you were concerned. I guess I just had too many things on my mind, so I wasn't thinking straight." 

Mia looked warmly at Jenna. "It's alright Jenna. I should know that you weren't in a good mood. I should have had it figured out by the time you asked me if I loved Isaac." She said, looking at Jenna with aqua eyes. 

Jenna looked confused. 

"You love Isaac, don't you…?" Mia asked, the statement coming out of nowhere. Jenna looked a little shocked. "How-How did you know…?" 

Mia looked like she was wise queen for a moment there. "I could see it when you looked at me. Eyes can reveal the most things about as person." Jenna looked more shocked, but then a smiled cracked over her face. "I guess I should know that someone like you would know that…" 

She turned, and then glanced back at Mia. "I'm sorry." As soon as she said this, she disappeared up onto the deck. Mia smiled. "I knew it…" 

* * * * * * * * * *

They traveled through the Gondowan Cliffs no problem, but then came the long journey up the side of Gondowan, and then they had to float up a river to get Contigo. This process could take up to 4 days.

"I hope we get there in time…" Ivan said softly, looking out onto the vast ocean, letting the wind lift his golden hair. Sheba came up beside him, also letting the wind carry her short hair around her face. "We all hope that…" Sheba said, looking out as well. 

"We're almost there." Felix called from the front of the ship. "We should arrive there in 2 days. But that's only if we don't stop for anything." 

"Great." Ivan said, who continued to stare at the ocean. 

Hamma just has to be alright… 

* * * * * * * * * * 

"We're here." Picard announced as they turned a bend that led to Atteka Island. Ivan ran to see the port as they rounded the bend, but was immediately shocked by what he saw. "No…" he whispered, his body numbing with shock. 

"He can't have beat us!" Sheba cried, covering her mouth with shock. "It's not possible! We took nearly 4 days!" Felix brought the ship to a stop, and landed softly in the shallow water. Picard climbed down hurriedly from the crow's nest, and untied the plank. The plank fell with a deafening crash. 

Ivan hurried down, and splashed towards the sandy beach. Mia was close behind him. Ivan stopped short, and stared at the crimson sand around him. 

Bodies. Tons and tons of bodies, that were bloody, and cut up. 

"No…" Ivan said in a whisper, his voice trailing off. Mia walked up beside him, and bent to inspect the crimson sand. She took a little pile into her fingers, and felt moist blood leak out of the sand, and onto her fingers. "This recently happened…" she said, confirming her inspection. 

"How could he have gotten here so fast?" asked Jenna, looking around in shock. "He didn't even have a boat to begin with!" 

Felix looked around. "This is bad. If Isaac was able to get here before us, he might as well already be in the Celestial Lighthouse." 

"I thought he said he didn't know where the Lighthouse was." Said Picard, looking quizzically at Felix. "He even told us." Felix shook his head. "That might be so, but it might be that Alex knows where it is, or the Wise One told him where it was, but he made a promise not to tell where it was." 

"That's true…" Sheba said. "It might be that Isaac was forbidden to tell anyone about where the Celestial Lighthouse is…" 

"Then we should hurry." Said Felix, turning to go up the plank. "Wait…" said Ivan, turning to stop Felix from going any further. "I want to see if there are any survivors in Contigo...I want to know if Hamma survived..."

"We don't have any time to waste, Ivan…" Felix said sadly. "I know that you're worried about Hamma, but there's no way we'll be able to go to Contigo, and then back to the ship again without wasting about 2 days of the journey."

"Then I'll stay here!" Ivan said, suddenly angry. "You can all go to the Celestial Lighthouse! I don't even know why I came with you!" 

"We can't leave you here alone, Ivan!" Jenna cried, looking at him with a worried look. "There's no way you'll survive alone!" 

"I don't care!" Ivan said, glaring at them. "I just want to know if Hamma is alright!" Mia suddenly spoke up. "I think there might be a way to get to Contigo without wasting any time."

"How so?" asked Picard. 

"If we get Ivan to cast Teleport, we'll be able to check up on Contigo, and then we can go to Prox." Sheba looked happily at Mia. "Good idea! I never realized that we could do that too!" Mia beamed. 

"Great idea." Felix said. He turned to Ivan. "Cast Teleport, and we'll check up on Contigo, and then we'll head towards Prox." Ivan nodded, and closed his eyes. A soft violet glow pulsed from his outstretched palms. 

"_Teleport_!" A bright flash of purple light surrounded them, and everything around them dissolved into white. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

The town of Contigo materialized in front of their eyes. They all looked around, and were frightened by what they saw. Ivan looked around in horror. "No! Hamma!" He took off running towards the center of the ruined town. 

Bodies were strewn all over the town. Some of them sprawled over boxes, roofs of houses, some were burning, and some of them were missing limbs. "He couldn't have done this all, could he have…?" whispered Mia, walking around the massacre behind Jenna. 

They continued to walk, their boots clicking on the slate, cutting through the thick silence around the town. All that was heard was their boots clicking on the slate, and the crackling of fire. 

They found Ivan standing in the center of Contigo, staring at something. "My Sol…" Picard said, his eyes filling with shock. For, in front of Ivan was Hamma…Dead… 

Her throat had been slit, and her wrists were tied together, her body hanging from a large building that loomed over all of the other houses. Behind her was a message written in blood. It read: 

__

'I hope you enjoy my present, Ivan…'

****

I feel so evil towards Hamma and Ivan…

Fury: What do you mean, FEEL? You ARE evil! 

****

I thought you were supposed to stop me from writing evil cliff hangers…

Fury: Yeah I know…But there is something called a break…

And laziness…

Fury: Hey! 

Please Review! It's not much to ask for! Oh yeah, and if you like this story, I suggest you go and read Net Strife's story! It's in my Favourite Stories section, so go check it out! (I'm really sorry Net Strife, but I have shamed myself by forgetting the name of your story…Sorry!) And trust me, it's not as bad as this story! 

Little section for answer to Reviews!

Net Strife: Yeah…I know that I kind of confused that little part in the last section, but I think that maybe it will all tie up in the end! :D 

Well…That was pretty much the only question there was, so I'm just going to go now…

Fury: Yeah right. You just forgot the names of your Reviewers, and you're too lazy to go and check! 

Ignore him…Until the next chapter! Bye! 


	6. Stairs Leading to Nowhere

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Golden Sun: Nightmares 

I'm so happy right now! People like MY story! Usually, all mai stories are REALLY crappy, but I'm really surprised people would waste their energy reviwing mai story! (Don't get me wrong! I LOVE REVIEWS!) Anyway, Let's get on with the story! ...Right after I respond to a few reviews...

Emili: Hmm...Should I make Ivan go nuts, or should I not...? And you did raise a good point. I'd forgotten that Mia could heal sickness. OOPS! o_O And yea, Isaac is scaring me too...

Jamie: Yes, he is insane...Not as much as I wanted him to be, but it just came to me... ^_^

Void: Yes...Bad present...Who would want something like THAT?!

Dragoon Knight: Wow...How many people actually LIKE cliffhangers? Apparantly he does...But I'm glad he liked it, cause then he won't kill me next time I make more evil cliffhangers! MWA HA HA HA HA! (Cool name by the way…) 

Net Strife: Yes. I even scared MYSELF writing that chapter! o_O Aw...I hadn't realized I had made Ivan so sad! I hope you get better Ivan! ;_; (And by the way, I'm a GIRL, not a GUY! Unless you were refering to Isaac, then that's okay!) 

QueenDraganGoddess: Was that chapter really THAT sad? Don't cry!

Mary: Congratulations, Mary! You have brought my review counter up to 26! **Throws balloons and confetti at her** Anyway…Thanks for the nice reviews you sent me! ^_^ And, hey! You might be able to write like me someday! And about those mistakes you found…I know about them, but don't you just HATE to edit…? And you actually LIKED those comments at the end?? I thought those were pretty gay… 

Okay. I'm done. ON WITH THE STORY!!!

===============================================================

Chapter 6 "" 

Ivan sunk to his knees, his eyes fixed on the Hamma's purple eyes which stared right into him. "It...Can't be..." 

Mia looked away, disgusted and fearful at the same time. A great feeling to cry rose up in her chest. _No...Isaac couldn't have done this...There's just no way! It isn't Isaac causing all this pain...It isn't Isaac hurting Ivan like this... _She repeated this to herself over and over again, trying to convince herself that it wasn't Isaac, the one she loved, doing all this. 

Ivan's sobbing broke through her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. Sheba was kneeling beside Ivan, whispering to him in a soothing voice. Felix had gone up to cut Hamma off from the ropes, and Picard was underneath, holding a bag he had found to catch her limp body in. Jenna was standing beside Mia, her red eyes filled with tears, showing her sadness towards Ivan and all of Contigo. 

"There's just no way..." Mia whispered to herself. "It all has to be a dream..." 

* * * * * * * * * *

A soft breeze lifted Isaac's golden locks, throwing his golden scraf all over the place. Alex walked behind him, his blue hair flowing out behind him, and his sand coloured cape whipping around his body and legs. 

Snow glinted all around them, the bright sun throwing rays into their eyes, nearly blinding them. "We're almost there..." Alex said to himself. He chuckled, and said, "There's no way they'll be able to ctach up to us...And the fool, Ivan will slow them down..." 

A small village appeared from over a small hill, smoke billowing out from the fires blazing outside to warm up the village. At least the weather wasn't like when Jupiter Lighthouse had been lit. Isaac stopped, and smiled down at the people walking around peacefully. Children ran around, constantly falling down in the soft snow. Others walked around, simply doing nothing for the joy of it.

"Don't even know what's about to happen..." Isaac said in a soft whisper. He looked at the top of the fance surrounding the village. He smirked. "They're not even prepared for anything going to happen!" 

He laughed, and raised his hands towards the heavens. "_Gather, winds of the north! Comdemn all those not worthy to live!_" Clouds gathered the skies surrounding Isaac. A few of the children and people stopped what they were doing, watching in fear as the skies rumbled, and dove from a black darker then pitch, to a bloody crimson. 

Fire rained from the skies, accompanied by lightning, and feirce winds. Shrill screams rose from the viallge, and the people of Prox scrambled to get away. All the while, Isaac's laughter rose to overcome the rumbling of thunder... 

* * * * * * * * * * 

After they buried Hamma's body, and any other bodies they could find, they decided it was time to leave as soon as possible towards Prox. 

"Ivan." Felix said, his brown eyes showing sympathy. "Teleport us to Prox. We're going to stop Isaac from causing any more damage." Ivan scrubbed his tears away, and nodded, looking detirmined, his eyes blazing with anger. "Alright."

He clasped hands with Sheba, who held hands with Jenna. Mia held hands with Felix, and Picard held hands with Ivan. A soft purple light engulfed them, and surrounded them, wind whistling in their ears. Ivan's voice rose over the strong wind. "_Teleport_!" Blinding white light flashed in front of their eyes, making them squeeze them tightly. 

Mia felt her feet leave the ground, and a strong pull towards the north, leading towards Prox. She opened her eyes, and looked to the ground. Large mountains raced under them, and forests of all sizes grew from underneath them. 

Soon, the ground was covered with snow, and the trees went from lush and green, to twigs with many branches filled with snow. The air became chilly, and snow fell silently around them. The silence was broken when screams of terror, and laughing echoed from Prox. They all gasped in shock. Prox was being rained on by fire, and lightning. Houses burned fiercely, along with a few bodies here and there. Many ran in an attempt to outrun the fire.

On a hill in front of Prox was Isaac, with Alex standing silently behind them. They weren't surprised to see him there, but what shocked them the most, was that he was _laughing_. He was laughing at the misery of the people of Prox. 

They landed behind Alex with a soft thump. Alex turned, and looked angrily at them, with a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Well...Well...We didn't expect you to arrive so soon..." They all broke their grip on their hands, and took out their weapons, proceeding to a fighting stance. 

"It's good to see you all again..." Isaac said in a mere whisper. He turned to Ivan, and said in a voice that sounded like it was on the verge of laughing, "How did you enjoy the present I left you in Contigo?" 

Ivan gritted his teeth, and tightened his hands on his Nebula Wand. Then Isaac did laugh. "You shouldn't be upset, Ivan. It was only one loss compared to all the others..." At this, Ivan lunged at Isaac, and attempted to slash him across the chest, but Isaac stepped out of the way, making Ivan fall to the ground with a thump. 

Isaac stood over Ivan, and smiled. "My, Ivan…You're not as focused as you usually are…" Ivan sat up, and growled low in his throat. Ivan turned, and was about to lunge at Isaac again, when he felt cold steel on his throat. Ivan stopped in his tracks. 

Ivan could feel the soft pulsing of Psynegy from within the sword, a sing that Isaac was about to use it if Ivan didn't stop moving. Isaac glared at Ivan with cold blood red eyes. "Don't try anything or this sword and your throat will meet…" his voice as equally icy as his eyes. 

Ivan dropped his Nebula Wand, and glared at Isaac with violet eyes. Isaac turned towards the others, and smiled at them, his eyes showing no feeling. 

"And if any of you move, Ivan isn't going to be joining any of you to the top of the Celestial Lighthouse…" The all dropped their battle stances, and sheathed their swords, and the others with staff strapped them to their backs.

Isaac smiled in approval. "Good." He sheathed his Sol Blade, and looked at them all in turn. "I'll meet you all at the top of the Lighthouse…" He closed his eyes, and a combination of purple, and golden light pulsed around him. Alex also pulsed with gold and purple, until they both disappeared. 

"They're gone!" Mia cried, running to where they had just been. She paused, and then thought aloud, "Was that Teleport?" 

"Looks like it…" Felix, walking to the edge of the hill. "But it looks like the firestorm stopped…" They also saw the firestorm had indeed stopped, and all that was left were a few burning houses and bodies. 

"We'll be able to pass through unscathed." Picard said, starting the descent down the hill. Jenna followed him, and Felix followed her. "Let's go, Ivan." Sheba urged him, linking arms with him. Ivan stood up, and picked up his fallen weapon, and followed Felix down the hill along with Sheba. Mia followed behind them.

As they walked closer towards Prox, the acrid smell of death and burnt flesh gagged them. It made them want to be sick. Small children's cries filled the air, and sobs for loved ones lost surrounded them. 

"Shouldn't we help them?" asked Jenna, watching a child cry beside a burnt body that was most likely her mother. 

Felix looked saddened. "We can't. We have to get to the top of the Celestial Lighthouse, and stop Isaac before he succeeds Alex's plans." 

"Oh…" Jenna said softly. It just didn't seem right to just leave without helping the Proxians. Though Saturos, Menardi, Karst, and Agatio were like sadistic killers, the rest of the Proxians weren't so bad. 

"It pains me to see them like this too, Jenna." Picard said from the front. "But how would you feel if Alex makes all of Weyard his own? Then most certainly, there would be more suffering." 

"You're right." Jenna said. "Just thinking about Alex taking over Weyard makes me sick…" 

* * * * * * * * * *

Isaac placed a hand on the pulsing red door of the Mars Lighthouse. It pulsed, and then stopped. He smiled, and opened the door with a low creak. Inside, everything hadn't changed since the lighting of the lighthouses 1 year ago. The slate was still a flaming red, and small designs in green decorated the walls. Lava flowed around the bridge leading towards the innermost depths of the Mars Lighthouse. The heat was unbearable, and the heat distorted the air, making the very air shimmer. 

Isaac stepped in, and continued towards the doors that were sealed with very powerful magic. He cast a small fire in his hand, and sent it towards the door. It burst open, the small bits of tinted red marble raining on them; Isaac cast a barrier around them to stop the marble from cutting or hurting them. 

He continued walking, ignoring the very fact that Alex was right behind him. His mouth formed a smile. _It comes soon…_

* * * * * * * * * *

"This is taking too long!" Sheba said, running to where Felix was walking, hurrying as fast as he could through the snow that covered the earth. "We have to get there! Now!" 

"I know…" Felix panted, taking another step. His foot sank up to his knee. "We'll never get there like this…" 

"I could melt the snow…" Jenna suggested. "Or I could Teleport us there." Ivan said, stopping them in their tracks. They clasped their hands together again, and the scenery disappeared around them, and they were soon standing in front of the Mars Lighthouse. 

They looked towards the door, and saw that it was open, the snow already coating it in a light layer. "He's already here?" asked Mia, starting to walk up the stairs behind Felix. Picard checked the snow, and saw that it was already starting to freeze the door around its hinges. "It appears to be recent. But I think he might have gotten a long head start." 

"That's not good." Sheba said. She started her way through the door. "We have no time to lose." They all followed her, and noticed the immediate increase of temperature. No sooner had they taken two steps, they were already beginning to sweat. 

Jenna, of course was fine. "You should all hurry up if we want to get there in time!" 

"Easy for you to say…" Ivan panted. "You're a Mars Adept. Heat like this doesn't bother you as much as it does us!" Mia forced a laugh. "You think you have it easy? I'm a Mercury Adept! Water and Fire don't mix!" 

"Would you all stay focused?" asked Felix bitterly. He was beginning to get frustrated with their complaining. It was hot enough without their complaining; it wasn't like the heat didn't bother him. 

They all muttered a quick apology. 

As they continued their walk, the heat rose, and rose, and rose. It was beginning to get unbearable, and they all wanted to run out of there, and to jump into the snow gathering outside, but they knew that Weyard was in danger, and they were the only ones that could stop it. 

They came to the other door that led into the very depths of the lighthouse. Heat radiated from the depths of the Lighthouse. The door was wide open, hanging from one hinge. "Looks like he was already here…" Ivan said, touching the door tenderly. 

"We should hurry then." Sheba said urgently. "He's way ahead of us, now!" They nodded in response, and stepped into the heated depths of the Mars Lighthouse. 

* * * * * * * * * *

Isaac stepped calmly from the heated Lighthouse into the cooled Celestial Lighthouse entrance. It was a relief to feel cool air again. 

Alex stepped out as well, and was amazed by what he saw. 

"This is the Celestial Lighthouse…" he said breathlessly, as though the her awed by the Lighthouse's magnificence. "At last…My dreams will be fulfilled…" Isaac didn't say anything, but he did smile. 

"This is going perfectly…"

* * * * * * * * * *

The elevator hummed faintly as it started it's descent to the Aerie of the Lighthouse. "We ought to be on our guard." Felix said as the elevator shuttered slightly. "We don't want anything to happen like last time." 

"Right, Mia?" asked Jenna. "You don't have Isaac to save you this time." Mia blushed. Picard hit Jenna lightly over the head. "Jenna…!" Felix warned. But Mia had to agree with Jenna. It was true that Isaac wouldn't be there to save her if she lost her balance and fell again. 

"And not only that." Ivan added. "We have to be careful for any monsters that might attack us on the way. That was how Mia lost her balance in the first place." Just in case, they all took out their weapons, prepared for anything. 

Just then, the elevator came to a sudden stop making them all fling their arms around, trying to keep their balance. "What was that?" asked Picard, looking around, and not spotting anything out of the ordinary. 

"Be careful…" Felix said, preparing to cast his strongest spell he could cast without destroying the elevator. The elevator rumbled, and then began its lazy descent again. "It looks like it was nothing…" Ivan said, confirming their fears. 

And maybe it wasn't anything, but they were still prepared for anything that might happen, careful not to go to close to the edge, in fear that they might fall off. The rest of the elevator ride was normal, but they decided not to take the sudden stop of the elevator so lightly. As the air around them began to become cooler, they knew that they were arriving to the Aerie. 

The elevator shuttered to a stop, and the snow swirled around them, the strong light of red flowing over them. The Aerie was the same as when they had destroyed the Doom Dragon, and the pure light of Mars still glowed in the middle of the Aerie. They walked around, not spotting anything unusual around the Aerie. 

"That's weird…" Ivan muttered, trying to peer through the snow that was starting to get stronger. "The Celestial Lighthouse _should _be here…" 

Mia responded, "It looks like we were wrong…But why would Isaac come all this way? Could it be that he was leading us towards the wrong place…?" 

"I don't think so." Felix said. "If he were leading to the wrong place, then he would be here too, looking for the Celestial Lighthouse." It was then, when Picard exclaimed, "I found something!" 

They ran towards Picard's face, and stopped short at what they saw. For, leading up into the heavens, were a pair of pearl white stairs. At the base of the stair s were two statues, both of them with angelic white wings. Their eyes were a dark purple, with swirling red streaks. In their hands were two doves one made of black pearl, and the other made of white pearl. 

"I guess…" Jenna gulped. "This is the Celestial Lighthouse…" 

****

Fury: Don't tell me that's where you're going to stop writing! 

Yup! 

Fury: You're so evil…

Hey, if I write more cliffhangers, then more people will review to make me write more. Hope they don't kill me though… o_O 

Fury: Do you honestly believe that they'll continue reading this story with such EVIL cliff hangers?? 

Well…Maybe…I think this might work… 

Fury: Is that all you care about? REVIEWS?? Don't you even care about your kind reviewers who waste their energy writing those reviews??? And this story is crap! 

Will you shut up? I'm tired of hearing your comments! **Sighs** Never let this happen to you kids… 

Fury: You had better write more, or I'll make SURE that other muses come and visit you! 

Uh oh…! 

Fury: WRITE! 

I'M WRITING! I'M WRITING! (I can't believe I'm letting a big red thing order me around…) 

****

Fury: I heard that…!

REVIEW! (Before Fury kills me!) 

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	7. Celestial Pathways

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Golden Sun: Nightmares 

Hey! Changed my name! After trying to figure it out for a while, I finally managed to figure it out! ^_^ Anyway, their in the Lighthouse now, and I have to say, I did NOT enjoy it… **Sigh** But oh well…If you want to know why I changed my name, go check my profile! ^o^

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Chapter 7 "Celestial Pathways." 

The stairs were even longer then they had imagined, and the monsters even stronger then they had thought. Once, Ivan almost fell off, but if it hadn't been for Picard, he would have fallen to his death. 

"These monsters are really strong!" Mia panted as she cast Glacier, killing a monster. "I don't think we're going to be able to make it!" 

"Don't say that!" Sheba cried, blasting another monster away with a Tempest attack. "We have to believe we can make it!" Jenna cast another Cool Aura tiredly, and said, "We should get going! If we waste too much time on these things, we won't make it on time!" 

"Right!" Felix yelled, pounding his Fire Brand into the head of a monster. "We'll make a run for it! Ignore any monsters that come close, except if they attack you! Let's go!" He took off at a sprint, his olive cape flowing around him, along with small wisps of clouds. 

Ivan took off after him, killing a monster with a Spark Plasma. Picard came after him, and Sheba followed Picard. Jenna followed Sheba, and Mia came right after her, hot on her heels. 

They could all feel the pounding of feet on the stairs. The whole staircase rumbled and shook with each step of the monsters after them. Mia looked back wildly, and saw that at least 3 dozen monsters were coming after them, all of them spewing fire and ice every which way. 

"The Lighthouse is right ahead!" Felix called from the front. "We'll be there in a few moments! Don't worry about the monsters! We'll lock them out!" 

Mia nodded, still not convinced. 

Felix ran through the door, allowing Picard, Sheba, Ivan, Jenna and Mia in. He pushed on the door, and everybody else jumped in to help. The doors shut with a bang, and both Picard and Mia used ice spells to seal the door. The door shook under the weight of the monsters banging themselves against the doors, but the doors didn't give; they seemed to be made of a very strong, durable stone.

"That was close..." Sheba said, panting. All the others were also breathing hard from using their Psynergy, and from the long run up the stairs. "I didn't think we would make it..." Jenna said/ She looked around, and exclaimed, "This place is really big...!" 

And indeed it was. 

The walls and floor were pure white, glowing like soft moonlight drifting through a blackened forest. One every slab on the floor, was a design of every element; first came fire, then earth. Then wind, and then water. On the ceiling were drawings of every statue they encountered in the Lighthouses. Long columns of black marble stretched up high, and branching out onto the cieling like black trees. Red orbs floated on the ceilings, each of them seemed to contain the very sun in them. Blue fog flowed around their feet, and purple light emmited from the walls. 

"This is bigger then the other Lighthouses!" Ivan exclaimed, staring down the long hallway that stretched out in front of them. The hallways ended in darkness, and they were a little nervous about going down there. 

"We better move." Felix said, taking the lead. He started to continue down the hallway, his boots clicking softly on the floor. They all followed, the shaking of the door slowly fading as they walked further. 

The hallways darkened, the light of the red orbs fading, but the walls that emmited white light was enough to keep them from falling on their faces. 

The hallways were vast, and kept on branching off into other directions, but they kept straight, afraid to go off the path they were following; it seemed very easy to get lost here. It became darker as the white light coming off the walls began to fade, giving off less and less light. Eventually, the light diminished. 

Jenna lit a small flame in her hand, trying not to get it damp from the small drops of water that fell from the cieling. 

A large door adorned with emeralds around the doorway, soon came into view, the emeralds sparkling in the flame. As soon as they stepped in, the whole room was plunged into darkness. The only light was Jenna's flame, and even then, it was still pitch black. Mia was a little nervous, especially when she heard liquid splashing around her ankles, and she didn't even want to think about what it was. 

Before Mia knew, the ground suddenly gave way under her feet. She let out a cry of surprise, and heard frantic cries of, "Mia!" The wind whistled in her ears as she fell, but it stopped when she felt a hand grab her around the wrist. 

She blinked in the dim light, and saw Sheba's face in the light. 

Sheba pulled on Mia's wrist, and Mia pulled her other arm to the top as well, and she felt Felix's hand wrap around her wrist as well. They soon pulled her up to her feet, and Mia let out a sigh of relief. "That was close! I thought I was dead!" 

"It was a good thing Sheba was close to you. Otherwise, you would have been falling to your death!" Ivan beamed at Sheba. Sheba blushed. 

"We should be careful." Picard warned. "There could be holes all over the place." He turned to Jenna. "Why don't you send a flare into the air, and then we'll be able to see better." Jenna nodded, and sent a flare into the air. The room was flooded with light. As they could see, there were holes all over the floor, and most of them were very well hidden within the darkness. Water flowed from the holes lapping onto their ankles. At that time, the flare went out with a bang. 

Jenna lit another fire, and said, "You're right, Picard. There are _tons _holes here. We should be careful if we don't want to fall." 

"I have an idea." Ivan said. "You should, every few seconds, send a flare into the air. During the time the flare lights up the sky, we'll run, avoiding the holes." 

"That's a good idea, Ivan." Felix said. He turned to Jenna. "You're going to have to do this if we want to get through." Jenna nodded, and sent another flare into the air. During the time the flare lit up the room, they ran, avoiding the holes. They were able to reach the end within minutes, and there was no one who fell through. 

As soon as they stepped through the other doorway, light blinded them, and they were surprised that it was so bright in this room, and in the other room, no light even flashed through the doorway. 

It was then that they noticed that the air around the doorway was shimmering, as though there was a barrier there. As they turned to see what they were facing next, a sudden fireball bounced off the wall, nearly crashing into them all. They jumped in surprise, and Jenna even gave a shout, without realizing it.

In front of them, was a giant head of a dragon, like the ones they had encountered in Mars Lighthouse, except this was _moving_! The head swiveled around on a platform, its eyes glinting with malice. Fire streamed from its mouth, preparing for a new attack. 

Before it hit them, Picard sent out, Shade. The little creature protected them with a large net of bubbles. As soon as the fireball hit the barrier, there was a large blast of light, and the fizzing of water evaporating. 

They weren't hurt, but they were a little shaken by the intense heat of the fireball that seeped through the barrier. 

"We have to hurry." Felix growled. He looked angrily at the dragon's head. "But this is blocking our path!" Ivan spoke up, "Why can't we just Shade protecting us? So even if we get hit by the fireball, it won't be able to hurt us." 

"That's a good idea," Picard said. "but I don't know how many attacks this barrier can take…" 

"We have to consider these carefully. "Mia said. "We can't afford anyone to get hurt now, or even worse, killed." Jenna nodded. "We can run across and have Shade protect us." 

"But we must hurry." Picard said. "Shade's power could give any moment." 

As soon as he said this, they all began to run like they had never run before. Even when Isaac, Garet, Ivan and Mia had to run away from the boulder in the Altin Mine, they hadn't run as fast as they did right now. 

Another fireball whizzed by them, but missed them since they were running. Likely they weren't hurt by any of fireballs. When they reached the end of the room, they were all panting from the run they had just done. 

"That was close…" Jenna panted, closing her eyes trying to catch her breath. "I hope none of the other rooms will be that hard!" 

"Let's get going." Felix said, looking grimly at them; they didn't know why though. They continued again, ignoring any growls they heard in the shadows. They were more worried about what was to come, rather then what was in the shadows. 

As they came to another room, they could feel a small breeze coming from within. As they stepped through, they were almost taken off their feet by the strong winds blowing over them. 

They were outside, on the balcony, but rising up in the middle of the floor, stretching from one side to the other, was a tornado. It was pitch black, with long swirls of silver and lilac. It pulled everything around it, even monsters which went to close to it were pulled in. 

"Wow…" Jenna breathed, trying to keep herself from being blown in as well. They all hung on to the doorframe, clutching tightly so they wouldn't be pulled in with the monsters. 

"How are we going to get through?" cried Sheba over the roar of the wind. Her voice was picked up by the wind, and was carried off away from their ears, but they were able to catch Sheba's mouth moving. "This tornado covers the whole floor!" 

"Didn't we use water to stop the tornadoes in the Suhalla Desert, Ivan?" called Mia. Ivan nodded in response knowing that his voice wouldn't be heard over the wind. 

"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Picard, glancing at Mia with a soft, concerned face. "You won't be able to do it alone." 

"I can use Sleet." Mia answered, letting go of the door frame with one hand, but making sure she hand a firm grip with her other hand. She lifted a hand, and called out over the wind, "_Sleet_!" A small animal, a complete duplicate of Picard's creatures, leaped out, and began to spray the tornado with a strong blast of water, which sprinkled spray on them. The tornado began to falter, and they thought they heard a roar, but it must have just been the wind. At last, Sleet gave another blast of water, and cut the tornado right through the middle, making it disappear, and leaving in its place, a large dragon. 

It was a large, silver dragon, with dark, violet eyes. On its forehead was a large horn that was pitch black. On its throat was a large chain that wrapped around its claws and its feet. Long wings shot out from its back, flapping relentlessly, which created a strong wind. It roared, and shot into the air. 

"Do you think we have to fight it?" asked Sheba. But by the looks of it, the dragon had taken flight. So they considered running across the balcony; there was a great chance that it would come back and attack them. 

"We should take our chance." Felix said, taking off across the balcony. Nothing happened to him, so they followed him closely behind. As soon as they were half way across the balcony, there was a great roar, and the dragon swept over them, letting out a jet of fire. 

It consumed the other half of the balcony in front of them, shutting off any chance they had to get away. The dragon landed with a loud crash, and advanced on them, its eyes shining with hunger. 

It let out another roar, and leaped at them, snapping its giant jaws at them. They all leaped out of the way before the dragon's head crashed into where they had previously been standing.

Jenna let out a flurry of Dragon Fumes, and both Sheba and Ivan let out a barrage of Spark Plasmas. Felix let out Meld, and both he and Picard cut through the dragon's hide. It let out a roar of pain, and stumbled back, black blood trickling down its body. 

It flew into the air, and gathered up a charge of flames. 

The whole balcony was consumed with flames, melting the supports holding up with a large crack. They were all protected by Shade, who Picard had let out before the flames consumed everything. They all felt the ground shift under them, and the ground groaned under them. They heard a loud snap, and the balcony gave way. 

The ground gave way to darkness, but both Sheba and Ivan had a good idea. They sent a flurry of messages in each other's mind, and both let out a Tempest attack. The eight tornadoes combined into one huge tornado, and they felt themselves stop. 

Jenna let out a long breath that she had been holding. "That was close…" 

Felix noticed that they had managed to stop right beside a balcony, and noticed that it was higher then the one that they had just recently been on. "Looks like we managed to get higher then we were." He said, leaping off the wind and onto the sturdy balcony. 

Picard followed him, along with Jenna and Mia. Sheba and Ivan came up last, and slowly made the tornado disappear. "Where are we anyway?" asked Mia, noticing that they hadn't realized where they were. 

Sheba looked towards the heavens and noticed that there was a long thin beam of silver light leading from the floor above them. "We're almost there!" she exclaimed pointing towards the beam. They all cheered, surprised they were able to get so far in such a short period of time. 

"We need one more floor, and we should get there in no time!" Mia said, already half way towards the door. They followed her quickly, not caring if monsters growled at them. They appeared at the top of the Celestial Lighthouse just in a few moments, and noticed that in front of them was Alex. He smirked at them coldly. "How good to finally see you again…" 

"Alex…" Mia said coldly. 

He smiled, and said, "I'm surprised you were able to get past all the puzzles in such a short amount of time…" 

"Just shut it, Alex!" Jenna growled, brandishing her Tisiphone Edge. Alex laughed in amusement. "Do really believe you will be able to defeat me?" he asked in a low, taunting voice. Their fists tightened on their weapons, clenching their teeth in slight anger. Alex went into a battle stance, whipping out his own sword. 

"Stop this foolishness, Alex." Said Isaac quietly, coming from behind Alex. "You know you won't be able to defeat on your own." 

"I thought I would relieve of some unwanted trash." Alex smirked towards Isaac. He stared Alex down, and said, "I need no help defeating these pathetic excuse for fighters. Especially not from you, Alex." He finished coldly. 

Alex clenched his teeth, but gave in by sheathing his sword, and stepping away from them. Isaac glanced at Alex coldly one last time, before turning to the others. He smiled in amusement. "I'm surprised you got this far. Who knew you would be able to even reach the second floor." 

He unsheathed his sword; the blood clinging to it was still fresh, and dripped quietly onto the marble floor. "If you want to live, you better leave now." Nobody moved, so Isaac sighed. Mia thought she saw a look of hurt cross his face, but whatever she saw, was erased almost immediately from existence. 

Isaac assumed a battle stance, as did everyone else. 

The battle for all of Weyard's safety was about to begin…

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If you would all refrain from any bodily harm… 

Fury: HOW WOULD THEY EVEN TRY TO CONTAIN THEMSELVES?? YOU JUST LEFT THEM WITH AN EVIL CLIFFHANGER!! 

It's all part of the story. You do have to end the story, SOMEWHERE! 

Fury: **Growls in anger**

Uh oh…He's getting angry…Anyway, please review, cause if you don't, Fury will get very angry with you. Right, Fury? 

Fury: I would this for you, because… 

**Sigh** Please review…

~*MG*~ 

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REVIEW RESPONSES: 

QueenDragonGoddess: Gee…You're nice! ^_^ And thanx for liking my story! 

Windflame: Thanx. Your not the only one who doesn't like cliffhangers! ^^;; And here it is! 

Net Strife: You're a funny person, you know that? And it's alright. 

Kyarorain: Yes, poor Ivan…Poor Hamma…I feel evil doing that too, but that's how it goes! Thank you for saying this is a WONDERFUL story! See Fury? FURY: DAMN! I lost 50 bucks! **Cries** 

Dragoon Knight: I hate that too. 

Caipto Celcior: Neither do I…Neither do I…

MercuryAdpet: Yes, I made sure of that! Fury won't be hurting me!!! 

Note: This story is drawing to a close, so you can expect 3 more chapters, including the epilogue, and then you can say, BUH BYE to the story! 

  



	8. Fight for Weyard

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Golden Sun: Nightmares

Okay...The second last chapter here folks! Not including the epilogue! ^o^ Anyway, hope you like it! Sorry for the delay again, but as you know, high school is a b*tch. (Unless most of you are in elementary school still…) 

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Chapter 8 "Fight for Weyard." 

Isaac stood in front of them , not moving, or doing anything. Felix found this strange, but before he could voice his concern, Jenna was running towards him, about to stab him. Felix saw Isaac's eyes glow crimson, and he shouted in fear for his sister, "Jenna! Look out!" 

She skidded to a halt, and tried to stab Isaac in the stomach, but he was too fast for her. He jumped over her, and came up from behind her. Jenna turned around wildly, just to receive a punch to her stomach. 

She let out a sort of strained gasp, and was blown away, nearly falling off the edge. "Jenna!" Mia cried, running to heal Jenna. 

She was about to reach Jenna, when she felt arms wrap around her body. She froze, unwilling to even breath, because she was afraid to see who it was. 

"Don't try to help her..." Isaac whispered in her ear. She gulped, and squirmed in his arms. His arms held tight, refusing to let her go. "Unless you want to die..." Mia frowned, and said in a whisper, "But...She could be really hurt..." Isaac breathed on her neck, and she could see his crimson eyes staring her down from the corner of her eye. 

At that time, Picard jumped in, trying to help Mia, along with Felix. Isaac noticed this effort, and pushed her away from him. She fell just inches from the edge. Isaac leaped away from them, and held out his hand. "_Spout_!" 

A large stream of water formed in front of him, and shot towards Felix and Picard. They were able to get out of the way before it hit them, and lunged at Isaac at the same time. Isaac saw Felix call out Meld, and smirked. "Futile..." 

Felix and Picard swung at the same time, aiming for Isaac's chest, but Isaac dropped to one knee. They gasped in surprise. How could he be fast? Isaac held both hands, and shouted, "_Twin Edger_!" Two beams of gold light shot out from his palms, and slammed into both Felix and Picard. They went flying, crashing into statues.

Mia helped Jenna up, just in time to hear an ear splitting crash. Jenna looked up in fear. "Felix! Picard!" Mia went running towards them both, casting Pure Ply on both of them. She glared at Isaac. _How can you be so cold? Why are you doing this to both of your friends? _

Jenna ran towards her brother, and asked in a frantic voice, "Are you alright?" Felix stood up, and spit out some blood that was in his mouth. "I'm fine." he answered, just as a thin tendril of blood trickled from his forehead. "How can you say that's you're alright?" Jenna shrieked, nearly panicking from fear. 

Picard stood up as well, and wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth. 

"We have to attack together..." Ivan said in a soft voice. Sheba nodded in agreement. "If we all attack with our strongest attacks at the same time, we should be able to confuse him. At least for a moment." 

"Good idea!" Jenna said happily. She prepared to attack, as did everyone else. 

Isaac stared at them, hiding a small smile. _Do they think they can hide this from me...? They don't realize that I can read their every thought..._

Felix went first, and called out, "_Grand Gaia_!" Picard came after him, and summoned, "_Megacool_!" Both Sheba and Ivan called out, "_Spark Plasma_!" Jenna summoned, "_Dragon Fume_!" Mia cast her strongest attack, "_Glacier_!" 

They all combined together, and shot towards Isaac as though the very elements were angry with his madness. Isaac smiled, and he held out a glowing hand. The attacks struck dead on, following with a great explosion and a giant cloud of smoke. They covered their eyes, and tried to see through the smoke. 

Suddenly a great wind ripped through them, and cleared the smoke away. They looked towards where Isaac was standing, and were shocked to see him standing there, completely untouched. He smiled at them with a cold smile. "That was quite the attack..." 

The looks of shock lingered on their faces, looking like they weren't going to recover any time soon, so Isaac decided to take his chance. He leaped into the air, and called forward, "_Hellfire_!" A large ring of fire appeared from his arm, and then continued to grow, leading straight towards them. 

Picard recovered from the shock, and looked up, seeing a large ring of fire headed straight towards them. "Look out!" He yelled, bringing them out of their stares of shock. 

They came to their senses, and managed to slip by, just as the ring crashed into the floor. It exploded, and when the smoke blew away with the wind, there was a large gaping hole that led straight through the Celestial Lighthouse. Then a large explosion and a rain of marble, and small flaming rocks shot out of the whole. 

Isaac landed gracefully, and watched them to see their reactions. "Wow…" Ivan said through his gritted teeth. They knew that Alchemy was a powerful tool, but they didn't think it was as strong as Isaac made it seem. 

"Do you still think you can defeat me?" asked Isaac quietly, gripping the hilt of his sword. Mia could almost see desperation in Isaac's eyes, pleading them not to fight anymore, because he didn't want to hurt them. Just when she was going to voice this, Felix stepped forward, and said firmly, "We don't care if we have to hurt you, Isaac. All that matters is if we manage to stop you!" 

Isaac laughed softly, and stepped forwards as well. At this, Felix lunged towards Isaac, his sword pointed right at Isaac's head. Isaac sidestepped him, and slashed Felix right across the back. Then he sent a blow from his sword into Felix's side. Felix let out a small grunt of pain, and landed on the ground, his chest heaving with pain. Blood flowed all around him, his fingers clutching desperately at his side. 

Isaac, Felix, and all the others knew that if Felix kept on bleeding as much as he was right now, he probably wouldn't survive. Felix focussed to cast Potent Cure, but he couldn't concentrate. The pain was closing off his concentration, clouding his thoughts and mind with dizziness. 

Mia tried to move to Felix's side, but Isaac stepped in her way. "If you want to help him, you have to go through me." Mia bit her lip, unsure of what to do. If she didn't fight Isaac, then she wouldn't be able to save Felix, but if she did, she could very well end up dead, or she might hurt Isaac…

Before she could do anything, Isaac leaped at her, and hit her in the chest with the hilt of his sword. The breath was knocked out of her, and she was sent sprawling, her DracoMace spinning out of her reach. Isaac stood over her, and held the cold steel to her neck. She peered into the cold, icy eyes that were once filled with joy, and calmness, but now, they were filled with malice, and coldness. 

The steel edged ever closer to her skin, until it finally managed to pierce her skin, sending a small trickle of blood down her neck. When she closed her eyes to receive the blow, there was nothing. She reopened her eyes, and saw Isaac still staring down into her eyes, but now they were filled with conflict, as though he couldn't bring himself to kill her. Mia took her chance, and pushed Isaac off her. 

She reached towards her DracoMace, grabbed it, and held it steady towards Isaac's form on the floor. She called to the side, not taking her eyes off Isaac, "Picard! Go and heal Felix!" 

Isaac smiled, and stood up steadily, watching Mia's DracoMace lazily, as though the thought of spikes digging into his body didn't bother him. There was a small flash of blue light, and Mia saw out of the corner of her eyes, Felix standing up, with a little help of Picard. Isaac then pushed Mia's mace away from him. 

"That was a clever trick, Mia…" he said softly, still staring into her eyes. His crimson eyes boring into her eyes, made Mia uncomfortable; it was though Isaac was staring into her very soul. "Isaac…" Mia said, a little unsteadily. "I don't want to hurt you."

Isaac laughed, and said to her, "You won't be able to stop me alone." 

"I could very well." Mia said, a little angry by Isaac's statement. It didn't matter that she was a girl, just as long as she could fight. "You don't know that." 

"Then why don't we find out?" he asked, picking up his fallen Sol Blade. Mia stepped back a little, still holding the mace ready to strike if the need to. 

It was then, a giant fireball went crashing into Isaac, catching him off guard, and sending him nearly over the edge. He crashed into a statue, and managed to stop himself before he fell. Jenna came running over, along with Sheba. "Are you alright?" she asked, slightly frantic. Mia nodded. "I'm fine." 

She sent a quivering hand towards her neck, and could feel the moist blood soak into her gloves. She took them away, and held them in front of her eyes. Blood clung to her fingers, leaving her gloves sticky, and stained crimson. She took them off, and dropped them on the floor. 

At that time, Isaac was standing up, a few small cuts on his body. There was a large cut going from the bottom of the eye, to nearly his neck. He smiled, and held a hand to his cheek. "You won't draw blood from me." He said, in a near whisper. "I won't allow you to." 

His body pulsed with purple light, and then with red light. In his left hand, fire was forming, and in his right hand, blue lightning started to gather. Felix turned to Picard. "We can't take a chance. You have to call out, Shade." 

"I'm not sure that is such a good idea, Felix." Picard said a little nervously. "Shade is to tired from protecting us from the other room."

"We have no choice!" Felix barked back at Picard, without meaning to. It was just to see their friend and leader attacking them was getting them all worried they would have to kill Isaac if he didn't revert to normal. 

Picard clenched his teeth, and called out Shade in his mind. He heard a small squeak in his head, and then Shade leaped out, and protected them with the usual shield of bubbles. At this time, a ball of lightning formed in Isaac's outstretched palm with fire exploding off of it. He smiled evilly, and let the ball fly without a word. 

It flew with a great roar, as though it were a monster, not a ball, running at them. They all tried their best to protect themselves, because they knew that Shade wouldn't be able to protect them for long. 

As soon as the ball of lightning and fire hit the shield, it expanded, and slowly began to swallow them. Bolts of fire, and lightning struck the shield, slowly devouring the protective bubbles. Felix growled softly in his throat. If this kept up, the shield would collapse, and they would be seriously injured. 

But the attack suddenly went out, like a gust of wind put it out. They looked up, and saw that Isaac was staring at them with a hard expression. "What just happened?" asked Ivan quietly, afraid that Isaac would suddenly attack them again. 

"Let the shields down." Isaac demanded, staring at Picard with a cold face. "Now." Picard glared at Isaac, and hesitantly let the shield evaporate. 

"What are you planning, Isaac?" shouted Sheba, though her face held a small look of fear. "It would be disgraceful to let you die in such a harmless way." Isaac said in a near whisper. "I'd rather kill you with my own hands and sword." 

"That's heartless!" Jenna spat out, without meaning to. But seeing Isaac the way he was made her want to go over there, and slap him until he came back to his senses. Isaac smiled at her, the smile not even reaching his cold eyes. "I don't care if you think it's heartless or not…" 

He paced in front of them, refusing to look at them in the eye. Mia didn't know why he didn't, but she had a feeling…

Isaac finally looked up, and held his sword towards them, the blood almost blinding them. "I want to fight only one of you." He said, glaring at them; his eyes flickered towards Mia a few times, she was certain of it. "Only one of us?" asked Jenna, looking at Isaac with a glare of suspicion. Isaac nodded. 

He sheathed his sword, and said, "I'll give you a chance to decide. And if I defeat the one you send, then I'll fight another." He smirked at them. "Choose carefully." Felix turned to the others, turning his back reluctantly to Isaac. "We have to decide who we're going to send to fight Isaac." 

"But we can't agree to this!" Sheba said in a hurried tone. "We can't afford to lose someone!" Picard shook his head. 

He sneaked a look at Isaac, and saw that he was staring at the blood red sun that was starting to set. "I'm afraid we have no choice." Picard said after Isaac looked towards them with no feeling shown in his face. 

"We…" Mia said timidly. "Could fool Isaac into thinking that there is only one person he's fighting." Ivan stared at Mia for a few moments, and then said, "That's a good idea." 

"Then who do we send?" asked Jenna finally after a few moments of silence. "How about Mia?" said Felix. The others stared at Felix with disbelief in their eyes. "What?" stammered Picard, his eyes widening. "Mia?" 

Mia glared at Picard. "Do you think I can't handle it?" she asked angrily, her temper getting the better of her. Picard held his hands in front of his defensively. "N-No!" he stammered, clearly scared Mia was going to attack him at anytime. "O-Of course not, Mia!" 

"Then we have a plan." Sheba said, sneaking another look at Isaac. Felix frowned, and said, "We can't think of this, do you understand? Isaac can read our minds, and if he knows what we're planning, it might ruin the whole thing." 

"Right." They all said at the same time. 

They towards Isaac, and Felix said, "We've decided who we're going to send to fight you." Isaac smirked. "We're going to send Mia to fight you." Felix said, pushing Mia gently to the front. 

Isaac stared at Mia with cold eyes. "This is the best you can do." Felix frowned. "You said we could send whoever we wanted to. Does that it matter if we send Mia?" Isaac chuckled. "Not at all. As a matter of fact…I'll quite enjoy this." He unsheathed his Sol Sword. Mia brandished her DracoMace. 

Isaac smiled, and stood in place, staring at Mia with red eyes. Mia gulped, and asked herself, _What's he thinking? _Suddenly, Isaac lunged at Mia, the tip of his blade directed straight towards her throat. Mia had no time to think, and acted purely on instinct. She held her mace up, and blocked the stroke of the blade with a clang. 

She looked straight into Isaac's soulless, crimson eyes, which seemed to reflect all the blood he had shed. She stared at herself in his eyes, taking in her scared looking face, and her shaking arms. Isaac smiled, and whispered, "You're afraid…" 

Mia frowned, and pushed against him, slightly surprising him. She brought her staff down, ready to cast a spell, when he suddenly took hold of her wrists. She, slightly surprised, nearly dropped her staff, but kept a firm grip on it. 

He stared deeply into her eyes, and smirked, "You really shouldn't think about your plans so openly, Mia." Mia gasped, and shouted at Felix who was beginning to cast a spell behind Isaac, "Felix! Watch out!" 

Isaac spun around, pushing Mia to the ground, and shouted, pointing a hand towards Felix, "_Dark Inferno_!" Large flumes of black fire shot out of Isaac's hand, and exploded upon impact with Felix's body. Felix was caught off guard, and crashed into a statue, and then landed into a wall. He fell to the ground, unmoving. 

"Felix!" Jenna cried, running to Felix, and cradling his motionless form in her arms. "Felix! Please be alright!" Mia watched numbly at the scene unfolding in front of her eyes. It was all her fault that Felix was hurt, and possibly dead. If only she hadn't thought about Felix behind Isaac the whole time…

She felt her vision blur, and she felt tears flow down her cheeks, and land on the floor. _If only…_

****

Fury: I have to say…That even for you, that was actually pretty deep…

Uh…Thanks I guess…

Fury: Why is this so short? 

**Groan** Oh no…Don't start…

Fury: Tell me! I bet other people are thinking that too! I don't think you want to leave people waiting for the final chapter of the story. 

Drop it, OK Fury? Anyway, moving on…I guess I really do have to apologize for keeping you guys waiting for so long, but high school is slowly, but surely, killing me. But I'll try and get the last two parts up as quick as I can. Ok? 

Review Responses

Kyarorain: I LOVE your name! And I'll try my best!

Capito Celcior: **Sniff** As much as I don't want this story to end, all stories have to end eventually. **Sniff** And you're most very welcome, AND YOU HAD BETTER! **much happier now**

Net Strife: You really think this is a good plot…? Hmmm…Here's the update anyway! Hope you enjoy! Yay! MAYBE and update! And…Gee…I hope your alright, and that no one in your family was hurt! o.O

QueenDragonGoddess: Hmmm…I wonder if I should have a vote on who likes cliffhangers, or not…But I guess I shouldn't 'cause your dragons will probably be angry with the responses. And I hope you liked this…SMALL…Battle…Hmm…

Dragoon Knight: Fury wants to know what you want to make a bet on. **Whispering** He could REALLY use the money…I never really thought about how the GS crew would feel about fighting their leader and friend. Maybe I should put in the epilogue how they all felt…But like you said, WHO REALLY CARES?

MercuryAdept: Ha! As long as this story continues, there will be cliffies! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And here's the update!

Windflame: You're kinda close, but I'm not telling what's going to happen. But I will say, you're KINDA close with the third idea. (Everybody who wants to see how close windflame was to getting the end of the story, go and check out the review!)

Procne: I've always loved that name…Isn't Isaac scaring everybody here? **All of the Reveiwers cowering in a corner** Hmmm… 

Fury: Do people actually read these things? 

I do. Anyway, I guess there's a question I need to ask you all. Who should Isaac fight in the next chapter? It can either be…

Mia or Alex? 

I probably won't go with the responses you people vote on, but I just want to see what ya'll think. Ok, that's all I wanted to say. Ciao peeps!

~*MG*~ 


	9. Normal

****

Golden Sun: Nightmares

Ack! I can't believe I left you all hanging! And after you all gave me such nice reviews to my story! *Sniff* I'm so sorry! Okay, now read on, and you can all give a big smack across the head for leaving you all hanging at the end of the chapter.

===============================================================

Chapter 9 "Normal." 

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion, which left Mia's ears ringing painfully. She looked up, and saw Isaac leap back, and unsheathe his Sol Blade. "What was _that_?" Mia heard Jenna ask loudly. She looked around wildly, but she couldn't find the person who cast the spell, but there was a large crater right where Isaac had just been previously standing. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alex's face go from a calm, confident face, to a face filled with a mixture of both fear and surprise. His face then went to one that showed he was now thinking. It was then that she wished she could read minds.

She felt someone watching him, and looked up, and saw Isaac standing over her. His eyes shone brightly and coldly, making her feel like her insides were turning into ice. He took up the hilt in both hands, and prepared to thrust the sword into Mia's neck. 

Mia closed her eyes, prepared for the blow, not caring if she died now. Just as long as it was painless…She snapped her eyes open when she heard a small thud in front of her, and saw someone who she didn't think she was going to see in a long time. 

"_Garet_…?!" Mia heard Sheba exclaim loudly. Isaac's eyes widened with both surprise and recognition, but couldn't stop his sword from coming down on Garet. But Garet was ready. He quickly pushed Mia out of the way, and unsheathed his Hestia Blade, and deflected the blow. The clang of metal against metal resounded around the Aerie, and Mia could actually feel wind come from the force of the swords hitting each other. 

"Garet…" Isaac growled, thrusting his sword harder towards Garet's heart, but Garet suddenly twisted his sword around, and made Isaac lose his balance. The tip of Isaac's Sol Blade grazed Garet's cheek, but Garet ignored it, and leapt up while Isaac's guard was down. 

Garet pointed his palm towards the ground underneath Isaac, and shouted, "_Pyroclasm_!" The ground cracked, and exploded underneath Isaac's feet. Four columns of lava erupted, and swept Isaac into the air. They soon disappeared, and flung Isaac to the ground again with a sickening crash. 

"Garet?" Mia whispered quietly, her voice cracking with fear. He turned, and it was unmistakable. It was Garet. His red eyes were the same, and his brown hair was spiked up as it was always. "What are you doing here? _How _did you get here?" 

"Easy!" Garet said calmly, despite the situation. "The Wise One brought me here." 

"The Wise One?" Mia asked, her brow knotting into a frown. "But the Wise One is under Alex's spell! We even read your mind to see that!" Garet shook his head. "No. The Wise One is normal. It's Isaac who's gone all nutty. As soon as I was better, I went into Sol Sanctum to see if this was true, but all I found was the Wise One locked up in a room that blocked his Psynergy. 

"As it turns out, Alex knew that a person who holds all of Alchemy, will eventually go mad with the power. But this wouldn't take place until a year from which Alchemy was embued to the person. So Alex planned to sneak into Sol Sanctum, lock up the Wise One in a room that blocked his Psynergy, and he planned to force Isaac to ignite the Celestial Lighthouse and make him ruler of the world. What Alex said was a lie. Everything that Isaac did now, he did on his own accord." 

"But how did Alex force Isaac to light the Celestial Lighthouse?" Mia asked. Garet frowned. "I have no idea, but we have a problem on our hands right now." Isaac was getting up, his body slightly burned by the lava, but he looked like he could still go on. "Flash." Garet said absently, holding out his hand. 

A tiny creature leapt out, with bright blue eyes. It had bright red scales, and a fluffy orange and yellow tail. Flash leapt into the air, and circled around all of them. Crimson fire exploded from the ground, and surrounded them, but despite the fire crackling around them, they could see everything that was going on.

Isaac glared at Garet, and said, "I'm surprised you survived that attack in Vale, Garet…" Then Isaac let out a laugh. "I'm even more surprised a person like you was able to all that without falling flat on your face." 

Garet glared back with icy eyes, and then laughed as well. "It's surprising that someone like you could be controlled so easily by a little taste of power. It's very surprising to see you like this Isaac." 

Isaac smirked, and muttered something under his breath. Before they knew it, the fires surrounding them flickered and then slowly died away, leaving them totally exposed to any attacks. "Wha-?" exclaimed Jenna, seeing a small point of red light floating back towards Garet. "What just happened?" 

Garet growled softly in his throat, and Mia heard him mutter, "Stupid Djinn drain…" Isaac smiled, and thrust his sword into the ground. The marble cracked, and then something exploded from the ground. 

They looked in horror as a large figure dressed in black slowly climbed out of the ground. Large black wings sprouted out, and lifted towards the heavens. Crimson eyes opened, and then a loud roaring came out of the creature's mouth, showing long teeth. Then everything went silent as black feathers quietly fluttered around them. 

Isaac slowly stood, and smiled at the creature as it grew to its full height. It was a large black dragon, which stared at them with blazing red eyes. It opened its mouth, and all of them expected another roar, but instead, silver light gathered in its mouth, and then it blasted the whole Aerie with silver light. 

"Watch out!" Picard yelled, sending out Shade to protect them. As soon as the light touched the shield, there was a large explosion. Even though they were protected by the shields, there was enough wind to push them all to the ground. 

After the smoke cleared, the whole shield had shattered, and Shade was lying in Picard's hand. "I'm sorry." It said softly before disappearing into Picard's body. "Damn!" Garet hissed under his breath, seeing as they no longer had any protection. 

Isaac jumped onto the dragon's shoulder, and said, "Finish them." 

The dragon roared, and snapped at them with long teeth. Its head crashed into the floor, shaking the very foundations of the lighthouse. It gathered purple fire in its jaws, and let it erupt all around them. They prepared themselves for the inevitable, when a large fountain of water sprung up all around them, and shielded them from the fire. 

They saw Alex standing with his hand outstretched, and though he was trying to conceal it, it was still faintly glowing. "Enough of this." He said, glaring up at Isaac. "Light the lighthouse." Alex demanded. 

Isaac glared at Alex a little longer, and leapt down, the dragon slowly disappearing in black smoke. "You don't want them to attack me while I'm lighting the lighthouse, do you? It would be better to kill them now, before they do anymore damage to our cause." 

"I'll take care of them." Alex said, unsheathing his Indigo Blade. "You just get to lighting the lighthouse." Isaac sheathed his Sol Blade, and turned towards the hole in the middle of the Aerie. 

Picard made a move to stop him, but Isaac flung him away with a mere flick of his hand; Isaac had produced a strong wind, that flung Picard towards the edge where he lay unmoving. Garet looked towards Isaac, who was slowly making his way to light the Clestial Lighthouse. 

"Mia…" Garet muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Mia. "You have to try and stop him." Mia stared at Garet with a small look of surprise. "_Me_?! But I won't be able to do anything! I barely got out of the last encounter with him! If you hadn't come to help me, then I wouldn't even be talking to you!" 

Garet stared deeply into Mia's eyes. "You're the only Isaac would probably listen to! You're probably the only one who can bring him back to his senses! You're the only one who's captured his heart!" 

Mia's eyes widened, and a small blush crept onto her cheeks. _Captured his heart? _Had she really…She thought Isaac wouldn't even think twice about her, but hearing Garet say that… "I…" Mia stammered, looking at Isaac. There was only one way to find out. "Okay. I'll do it. Keep Alex distracted, and I'll go over there, and try and get Isaac back to normal." 

Garet smiled, and gave Mia a small pat on the shoulder. "I knew you would!" With that, he brandished his Hestia Blade, and swept it towards Alex. The sound of metal against metal washed over the Aerie, and while that happened, Mia ran towards Isaac.

Isaac didn't seem to notice her, until she appeared in front of him, her arms outstretched, as though she was trying to protect the Celestial Lighthouse. Isaac stopped, and smirked in amusement. "Trying to be brave?" 

She growled, and said, "I won't allow you to go any further! If you even move, I'll give you such a beating, you won't be recognizable!" Isaac let out a cold laugh, and said, "I doubt that. You won't even raise your weapon to face me."

Mia froze at her words. It was true. She would never think of trying to fight Isaac, not just because his Psynergy was stronger, but because she didn't want to hurt the one she loved… 

She was cut off from her thoughts when she felt strong fingers wrap around her throat. She let out a gasp of surprise, and upon instinct, brought her hands up to Isaac's wrist. His grip tightened, and his face was just inches from her own face. "That's the problem with you." He hissed. "You think too much with your heart, and not enough with your brain. Power isn't obtained by helping others. You only get it by being ruthless, by fighting your way to the top."

"That's not true!" Mia gasped, trying to loosen Isaac's grip, but it was in vain. "The Isaac I knew wouldn't even think of hurting people to get his way, or to get power!" 

"The Isaac you once knew is gone forever!" Isaac growled, bringing Mia's face closer to his own, so that his own nose just scraped Mia's own nose. "He's gone, and your going to have to live with the one you see in front of you." His eyes bore into her, and his grip tightened even more. "But I'll spare you the pain." He said finally after a few moments of silence. 

He walked forward, and held Mia over the hole leading into the very core of Weyard. "Isaac…!" Mia gasped out, desperate to find any single thread of the Isaac she knew and loved. "Please! You're doing the wrong thing! Alex wants to rule alone! He'll get rid of you the first chance he gets!"

At this, Isaac let out another laugh. "Do you believe that I'm doing what Alex wants? He _believes _that I'm doing what he wants, but in reality, I'm not. I'm doing this for myself, and not for others." 

"But think of all the lives that have been sacrificed just to get what you want!"

"Ah…I don't care about them. All I care about is getting power, and I don't care if a few lives have to be destroyed on the way." 

Mia looked franticly out of the corner of her eyes, but she knew there was nothing she could do. "I think that's enough talk." Isaac said in a whispered voice. "It's time to end this." 

Isaac held her over the hole, and said, looking straight into Mia's eyes. "Good-bye Mia." He let go, and Mia fell with a small cry of fear. The instinct to grab something when you fall, made her arm lash out, and grab a hold of anything. When she felt her hand grasp something, she closed her fist, and held on tight.

It was then when she stopped, and opened her eyes. She looked at her hand, and saw yellow material spilling over her hand. _Isaac_-?!

She looked up towards the entrance of the hole, and saw Isaac's own form dangling from the edge. His fingers barely hung onto the edge, and he could see he was struggling to pull himself up, but it was impossible with her own weight adding to his weight. 

"Hang on Isaac!" called a voice. Mia looked up, and saw Jenna looking down at them, and outstretching her hand towards Isaac. He glared at her, and finally took it, and with the help of Jenna, was able to pull himself up, along with Mia. 

As soon as he was over the edge, and Mia was hanging onto the edge, Isaac leaped on, grabbed a hold of Jenna's neck, and pushed her onto the ground. "You fool…!" he hissed, smirking down at Jenna, as she struggled to breathe. "This could have been your chance to be rid of me once and for all! As I said, compassion leads to weakness." 

Sheba and Ivan sent each other the same message, and both of them prepared to cast a Spark Plasma. Isaac glared at them, his eyes glowing briefly, and before any of them knew it, both Sheba and Ivan were blasted to opposite ends of the Aerie. 

"I…Isaac…!" Jenna gasped, wincing as his fingers bruised her neck. "You have to stop! Please…! Only you can fix what was done…!"

"I don't care about those people!" Isaac said, frowning at Jenna. "I have everything I need! I don't need any pathetic people, or friends that need protecting!" Mia pulled herself up, and just in time to see Isaac about to drive his Sol Blade into Jenna's heart. 

"No!" Mia shouted, her expression turning to worry. "Don't Isaac!" 

"_That is enough_!" boomed a misty, yet angry voice. A large explosion caught Isaac off guard, and sent him off of Jenna. Mia crawled towards Jenna, and cast a quick Ply. "Thanks." Jenna said huskily, rubbing her sore neck. 

"What was that?" asked Mia loudly, searching every corner of the Aerie. First she saw Felix struggling to sit up, then she saw Garet standing over Alex, who's face was half covered in blood. Then she saw Picard, helping both Sheba and Ivan up from the floor. From what Mia was seeing, no one had caused the explosion. 

"_What is the meaning of this_?" boomed the voice again, making Mia's ears hurt. "_I gave you Alchemy's true power to help others! Not to cause destruction and death_!" Mia saw Isaac slowly sit up. He glared at the rock floating in front of him. "I'm not listening to _you_!" Isaac spat, staring at the Wise One with a hard face. 

"_You are a fool to let such power go to your head! I was stupid to let you even hold such power. I thought you were different Isaac, but I was wrong. You are like all the fools in this world who let power go to their heads, and allow it to blind them from the truth._" 

At this statement, Mia was surprised to see Isaac bow his head, as though he was shamed by what he had done. But it was short lived, because Isaac slowly stood up, and then spat at the Wise One, "_You _are the fool!" 

Isaac then attempted to drive his sword into the Wise One's eye, but he shut it, allowing his body to glow with white Psynergetic rings. Isaac, unprotected by the blow, was blown towards the edge, but he managed to flip over, and land on the floor, just inches from the edge. 

Isaac was panting, his eyes shining with anger, and what looked like defeat. His body was battered, and bruised, blood slowly beginning to crust from wounds he had sustained. The Wise One was preparing to send Isaac off the edge, when Mia, before she knew it, was running towards Isaac, and standing in front of him.

"Don't!" Mia screamed, desperate. She didn't want to lose another… "Stop! Isaac is a really good person! If you give him another chance, he won't disappoint you again! I'll make sure of it! Please! Just don't hurt him!" 

The Psynergy surrounding the Wise One slowly faded away. Mia turned towards Isaac, who was staring at her through wide eyes. "What…Why did you do that…?" he asked, as though he was completely clueless as to why Mia put herself in danger for him. Mia smiled, and knelt down in front of Isaac, and said, "I didn't want to see you hurt…" 

"I…" Isaac looked to the floor. What were these feelings coursing through his body…? And why did he suddenly feel a rush of gratitude towards her…? Mia placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Now do you see that compassion isn't a weakness…?"

Suddenly, before Mia knew it, Isaac had pulled her into his arms. He clung tightly to her, and Mia couldn't help but blush when her head rested on his chest. "Mia…" he whispered, closing his eyes, and taking in the scent of Mia's hair. "I'm so sorry…I don't know what came over me…" 

Mia looked into Isaac's eyes, and noticed that they were back to their normal colour of cerulean. "Isaac." Mia said, wrapping her own arms around Isaac. "I forgive you. I know you didn't mean to do any of the things you did. You just weren't thinking straight…And…I…I love you Isaac…" 

Mia felt him cling tighter. "I…I love you too, Mia…" She felt Isaac become rigid all of a sudden, and Mia looked into Isaac's eyes, concerned. "What's wrong?" Isaac didn't pay attention, but rather, pushed Mia to the ground, and pull out his Sol Blade. Mia looked up, and saw Alex clash blades with Isaac. 

"Look who's back!" Alex smirked at Isaac, pushing against him with all his might. Isaac pushed back, and answered back, smiling, "That's right! I'm not helping you anymore!" With this said, Isaac shoved Alex-hard-in the stomach, and drove his Sol Blade through Alex. 

Alex's body went rigid with pain, and a little trail of blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth. Isaac, thinking Alex was dead, was starting to relax, when Alex suddenly smiled. "You think this is going to be the end…? I'll be able to make a new plan, and get your powers once and for all!" Alex let out a horrid laugh, but Isaac, being so disgusted with Alex's saying, pushed Alex towards the hole, and let him fall. They never even heard Alex's body hit the ground.

"Is he dead?" asked Jenna, stepping up beside Isaac. Isaac looked down the hole, and nodded his head. "I think so." 

"Hey man!" Garet said, stepping up to Isaac, and slapping him on the back. "It's great to have you back!" Isaac smiled. "It's great to be back." Mia walked up to Isaac, and hugged him. "_I'm _glad you're back, Isaac." Isaac hugged her back. "I'm glad to be back with _you_." 

"_Isaac. There is still work to be done_." The Wise One said, floating over the hole. Isaac nodded, and stepped back from Mia. "_Hold hands with all of them, and pool your Psynergy to me, and I will do the rest._" Isaac grasped Mia's hand, and Mia tightened her hold, as though afraid she would lose him again if she let go. 

The Wise One closed his eye, and they all felt some of their Psynergy leaving their bodies, and start to form a sphere in front of the Wise One. The colours of all the elements combined, and slowly, they took on the startling colour of white. The sphere started its slow descent into the well of the Aerie, and then, with a short rumble of the earth, it was over. 

They opened their eyes, and found everything to be the same it was before the lighthouse was lit. "Nothing changed." Garet said. "Of course not, stupid!" Jenna said, smacking Garet playfully on the head. "It's only Weyard that's supposed to rebuild itself. Not the lighthouses or the villages."

"How was I supposed to know?" asked Garet, rubbing where Jenna had hit him. "I was stuck in a bed for 4 days, for crying out loud!" Jenna, unexpectedly, hugged him. "I know, you big oaf." 

Sheba looked over the ledge of the lighthouse, and exclaimed, "Hey! Weyard is rebuilding itself!" They rushed to where Sheba was, and saw, that indeed, Weyard was rebuilding itself. Pieces of land that had disappeared over the ledge ions ago, were floating to the edges of the land, and slowly reforming. 

Mia came up around Isaac, and hugged him tightly. "Everything is going to the look the same it did 100 years ago…" Isaac smiled. "Yeah…Finally…Everything is normal…" 

…=The End…=

****

Fury: Yay! Now I get to beat you! *Starts to hit Mercury* 

****

Ow! Why'd you hit me twice?

Fury: One was for leaving this chapter for so long, and the other was for making the ending so cheesy! *Hits her even harder*

Fury: Seeing as Mercury is kinda dead for now, I'll do the review responses, now. 

Review Responses: 

Net Strife: I have to agree with you. She DID end that last chapter short, didn't she? Let's see what others have to say. "HEAR, HEAR!" Seee? 

Windflame: I hope she made it slow, and painful enough for your taste. (Personally, I think she should made Isaac cut off his head, or something. But that's' just MY opinion. It doesn't count. I'm just a muse.) 

Capito Celcior: Mercury tried her best to use the ideas you all sent in, changing a lot of ideas she had to make you all happy. And Mercury is always happy to answer your reviews. (But please. Never give her any ideas, because she scares me when she gets an idea…) 

Dragoon Knight: I JUST GOT MY PAYCHECK, AND I'M RARING TO GO! Give me the bet, and I'll go with it. BUT I WARN YOU! I will NOT lose. 

Void: I agree with you, in whole. And Mercury wants you to judge and see if she really did give away the story by asking that question in the last chapter.

Yagami: Alex, hmmm….? 

QueenDragonGoddess: Mercury hopes you like what she wrote. It's not really a fight with Isaac, but it's close enough, no?

Procne: Quote= "I don't want it to end either, but it's the way it goes. Everything has an ending." This is what Mercury wrote down, and wanted me to say to your review. I personally, don't give a damn. 

Kyarorain: Felix isn't dead. Happy? And yes, I will take the cookie! *Happy*

JohnDude: Mercury says thank you. And she says that she doesn't appreciate people calling her a pinhead, and a moron, but since you apoligized, and said that her story was good, she forgives you. And she says she's sorry she didn't get this up sooner.

Cloud-123: Mercury says, "Thanks" 

Fury: Wow. Even I didn't think you had so many fans! But since Mercury is still dead, I'll say the good bye for both of us. Oh! She also wants me to say to wait for an epilogue! Bye! 

^…FURY…^ 


	10. Epilogue

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Golden Sun: Nightmares

Oh man! I can't believe I left you all hanging here! o.O But my exams are very soon, and I'm studying like mad! I haven't really been able to squeeze this in, but I finally got around to writing it! So here it is! ^_____^

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__

Epilogue

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Mia= P.O.V.

Even though the incidents in the Celestial Lighthouse happened 2 months ago, it hasn't been easy forgetting about what Isaac did. Yes, I know that Isaac most likely wasn't aware of what he was doing, but it was scary to hear Ivan and Sheba say that he probably was doing everything on his own. 

Though Isaac remembers nothing of what happened, I'm still nervous to be around him. What if he were to turn back again? What if he killed me? I'm being selfish about this, but I'm only scared that everything would happen all over again. How would you feel if the one you loved could kill you any day, and that you would get no warning when it would happen?

As I look at everyone today, I can tell they're still a little shaken up about the events that took place those fateful 2 months ago. Even though they hide it for Isaac's sake, I think he's becoming a little suspicious. He's been locking himself in his room, and won't see anyone. 

Not even me.

Even as my worry is starting to rise about him, I can't help but feel safer when he's not around. Everyone else also seems calmer when he isn't there. I've seen the whole room with just us in it be happy, and warm, but as soon as Isaac walks in, a smothering emptiness, and sheer alertness at anything that would happen blankets the whole room. Even I _have to tighten my hand on my staff, just to reassure myself it's there. _

But now I wonder if Isaac really would go back...Could it be that it was just an accident that this all happened? I asked Felix about it, and he responded with:

"Mia. Nobody's sure that whatever took place 2 months ago was an accident, or it was on purpose." _Felix said, warily. As I stared into his brown eyes, even I was amazed at just how old he was. _"Was it just a coincidence that Alex appeared when he did, so that the blame would be his? Or did he really do it all? I'm sorry that my response doesn't tell you anything, but the truth is, I don't know."

__

I'm thinking about what Felix said, but I'm still not reassured. Even if Alex is gone for real this time, it doesn't change the relationship between Isaac and myself. I love him, but it's impossible to be with him when I feel scared _of him. _

It doesn't happen often. When you're in love, you want to be with that person, no matter what, even if the person you loved died, and you take your own to be with them. But my relationship is different. 

"How can you be afraid of Isaac?" _Jenna asked me once, but I can't respond to that question. It's just to complicated for me to say. When I see Jenna, and Garet together, I feel...sad... And then I think to myself..._

****

Why can't Isaac and I be like that? 

__

Even Ivan, for the shrmip that he is, is with Sheba. Why is it that I can't feel fear whenever I'm with Isaac...? And why is it that I feel, that if I'm not with him, something bad will happen to him...? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Isaac= P.O.V.

It's strange that I don't remember what happened 2 months ago, but no matter how much I ask the others, they don't want to tell me. Though, I do have dreams about what I think may have happened 2 months ago, that the others are so desperate to keep from me. 

Blood. Tons and tons of it is always floating around me. And I'll see bodies. Loads od them, hanging from the ceiling, their blank eyes staring into my very soul. Even when I wake up, I shiver with fear. I can still see the eyes staring at me, even after the dream has ended. But what ligers above my head, is the fact that I _may have caused all that death. Sometimes I'll have one where I nearly kill Garet. Though I know it's a dream, I can't help, but feel guilty._

And I see a sudden difference in everybody. As soon as I walk into their sights, they go tense, ready for anything. I can even see their hands tighten on their weapons, though they don't think I do. Then they try to act normal, as if their hands aren't ready to strike. 

I've been locking myself in my room. I think it's best that I do that. I 'm refusing to see anyone, including Mia. Even though she seems concerned about what's wrong, I can sense the fear in her voice. I can almost imagine her eyes filled with fear, and her hand quivering. She says that she loves me, despite of what happened, but I don't really believe her. She goes stiff whenever I touch her, and when I kiss her, her body if shivering under my hands. 

It doesn't take a great Alchemist to see that they're afraid. Even if they think I don't notice, I've been able to see that they're afriad, not just of a great threat coming back, but they're also afriad of...

Me.

__

Even if they think they're hiding it very well, I can see through them. As they say, the eyes are the windows into the soul. And even if I were a Jupiter Adept, I wouldn't have to delve into their hearts just to see that they're afraid. 

But as I think harder about it, I think it would be better if I'm not there at all. Sometimes, I even think of running, or of even taking my own life, but there would still be a void in my heart. No matter what I do, there's no way that blood can just erase what has been happening.

I just wish we could go back to the way we were before...

________________________________________________________________________

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I think I may have left this a little to early on, but I'm running out of ideas here... Anyway, there it is... My very FIRST fanfic that has EVER been completed. After trying my hand at a Cardcaptor Sakura fic, and then trying the very first Golden Sun fic, the journey has brought me here! At last! I am done! WHEEEE! sorry, got alittle emotional there, but I'm just so happy! Especially for all the wonderful people who stuck out with me until the end. And now, here is Fury to say the thank you's! 

Fury: **Reading off a cue card** "Thank you for reading this disgrace for a fic, and I hope to write another awful fic next time, so you should all run as far away as you can." 

That wasn't what I wrote...Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the ending, and I really hope to be struck with another idea for a fic, and I hope to post it up as soon as I can! Goodbye, and thanks! ^_______________^

~*MG*~ 


	11. The End?

****

The End? 

Yes. It is true. This fic may NOT be over! Yay! Celebrate! Anyway, I cannot really recall who gave me the idea, but you have him or her to thank. (Check the reviews to see who it is, and then give them a BIG hug! ^.^) 

As I was saying, there may or may not be a sequel to the story, but I'm already getting ideas for it! I won't tell you when it may be posted, but I do have to say, is stay tight, because it may just be coming soon to a computer screen near you! 

FURY: That was stupid.

Shut up Fury. You know, I don't know if you guys may want a sequel, but review, and tell me your reponses. If I at least get more then 3 people saying that they want one, then I will CERTAINLY get writing on the sequel!

Anyway, off I go to write another story! Oh, and just to tell you, ANOTHER fic may be coming your way. Not the MAYBE sequel, but a completely DIFFERENT ONE! Okay, I'm done. 

Ciao people!

~*MG*~ 


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